Ruben Amorim has boarded his flight to Manchester to begin work as Man United’s new head coach.
The former Sporting Lisbon boss was joined by his five assistants – Carlos Fernandes, Adelio Candido, Paulo Barreira, Emanuel Ferro, and Jorge Vital – on the 11am flight from Beja on Monday morning.
The Portuguese is set to touch down in Manchester at just before 2pm UK time.
Amorim enjoyed a fairytale farewell at Sporting on Sunday evening, less than 12 hours before jetting off to take on his new Red Devils role, as the Portuguese club fought back from two goals down to triumph 4-2 over Braga.
Now, the 39-year-old head coach turns his attention to Manchester United and the immediate issue of holding crunch talks with interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Ruben Amorim has boarded his flight to Manchester to begin work as Man United’s new boss
The Portuguese manager enjoyed a triumphant end to his tenure as Sporting Lisbon boss, fighting back to win 4-2 over Braga on Sunday less than 12 hours before jetting to Manchester
Amorim revealed after Sunday’s clash with Braga that he would speak with the Manchester United legend about his future today, congratulating the Dutchman for doing a ‘great job’ with the Red Devils following Erik ten Hag’s sacking.
Van Nistelrooy took interim charge at Old Trafford at the end of October and oversaw an unbeaten run of four games – winning three times and drawing just once.
His most recent success came during Man United’s 3-0 win over Leicester City on Sunday.
Commenting on Van Nistelrooy’s position, Amorim told reporters after his final game as Sporting boss: ‘About a legend of the club. He did a great job. I have to talk with him tomorrow (Monday).
‘Then I will explain everything. I am very clear and I will tell you like it is. Let’s wait until tomorrow,’ he added.
Despite general hope among Manchester United’s fanbase that Van Nistelrooy, 48, stays on at Old Trafford in some capacity, the Dutchman has remained tight-lipped on his future and refused to speculate about what might come next when pressed it on Sunday.
‘I can only describe that moment, how I felt and as a closure of this block of four games, it felt like a closure for that period and the future is open,’ Van Nistelrooy said.
‘That is the way I felt it. It was a beautiful moment to be able to share that with the supporters and, yeah, it was special.’
The 39-year-old’s first task will be deciding Ruud van Nistelrooy’s future at Old Trafford
The interim manager has turned United’s form around since the sacking of Erik ten Hag (right)
Carlos Fernandes, Amorim’s No 2 who was spotted boarding the flight on Monday, bid an emotional farewell to Sporting fans and effectively confirmed his new chapter at Manchester United.
Fernandes has been an ever-present alongside Amorim since the incoming Manchester United boss began his career in coaching.
He is part of a new wave of coaching who never played professionally and has been involved in coaching from as early as his teenage years.
Writing on Instagram, the assistant manager said: ‘The adventure that changed my life… so many moments that I will cherish forever. There is no other feeling other than eternal gratitude towards those who helped us create something so special: players for whom there are no words, colleagues who became friends and everyone who always supported us. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!’
Despite Amorim’s eagerly-anticipated arrival, the Portuguese will not be able to start work officially at Manchester United until a work permit is secured.
Mail Sport reported on Sunday night that Amorim is still waiting for the paperwork to be processed and thus cannot start officially begin his new job or ‘get his feet on the grass’, according to United sources.
Most of the players will be away on international duty anyway, with Amorim’s first game not for another two weeks against Ipswich at Portman Road on November 24.
Amorim’s No 2 Carlos Fernandes posted a heartfelt farewell to Sporting fans on Sunday night
Fernandes (right) is Amorim’s trusted side-kick who has been likened to Jose Mourinho
He will not be unveiled to the media until his pre-match press conference for that game, although he is expected to speak to United’s in-house TV station before then.
The Red Devils slipped to 14th in the Premier League before parting ways with Ten Hag and, despite only climbing one place in the division since then, are only four points off third place thanks to an impressive run under Van Nistelrooy.
Following their 2-1 defeat by West Ham last month, which proved Ten Hag’s final match in charge, United have beaten Leicester in both the Carabao Cup and Premier League, while also drawing with Chelsea 1-1 and beating PAOK 2-0 in Europe.
Amorim, who will have the full international break to settle in at Old Trafford before taking on Ipswich on November 24, made the perfect statement to Red Devils supporters last week as his Sporting Lisbon side dismantled Manchester City with a 4-1 win in the Champions League.
