Manchester City are poised to miss out on their ‘prime target’ to eventually succeed Pep Guardiola as Ruben Amorim closes in on a move to Manchester United.
Indeed, the Blues had categorised Amorim as their first-choice candidate to take the reins in the event that Guardiola departed next summer when his contract expired.
They will, however, have to make alternative arrangements, it seems, given that the Portuguese boss has agreed a deal in principle to become the new United manager following Erik ten Hag’s sacking on Monday morning.
Club chiefs were incredibly proactive in their attempts to strike up a deal, and his arrival at Old Trafford has now been deemed as ‘imminent’ by A Bola, with Sporting Lisbon already frantically making plans to fill Amorim’s void.
How City have reacted to the Amorim news behind the scenes
Now, amidst United’s ongoing approach, City are reportedly ‘briefing’ the media to dispel any rumours that they were interested in the 39-year-old coach.
Numerous outlets had already relayed City’s links to Amorim long before the Reds ignited their pursuit, and given that Guardiola is now in the final 12 months of his terms, you can imagine they’d have hoped to accelerate their interest in the new year.
You can expect that Etihad executives were already doing their utmost to convince the six-time Premier League winner to extend his stay, but now even more so, as there are so few options available on the market.
According to CaughtOffside, Amorim has expressed his gratitude towards City for being considered while making it clear he was unwilling to wait for Guardiola’s departure. As such, the Old Trafford faithful are eagerly anticipating concrete updates regarding their potential new man in the coming hours/days.
Interim Ruud van Nistelrooy will oversee tomorrow evening’s Carabao Cup clash with Leicester City and presumably Sunday’s match at home to Chelsea.
