According to various reports, Ruben Amorin has held talks with Liverpool to become Jurgen Klopp's successor. The Portuguese coach has become the bookie's favourite to become the new Liverpool manager and reportedly will cost the Reds £13 million to price him out of Sporting.
However, in a recent interview, Amorin has denied these reports as he shunned them in his press conference today "I did not meet Liverpool for any interview and there's no agreement, it's not true."
"I'm Sporting manager, I want to win here and I didn't meet any club."
Behind the scenes, club owners FSG continue to crack on with finding the very best successor for Klopp as Liverpool boss. And with that hunt being led by Michael Edwards, this time in a sparkly new CEO of football role, that focus has very much centred on Sporting Lisbon boss Amorim in recent weeks.
The 39-year-old began his managerial career at second-tier Portuguese side: Casa Pia where Amorin steered them to promotion to the LigaPro in 2019. The young, hungry, and determined manager then took over at Braga where he won the Taca da Liga ( The Portuguese cup). Since then he has kicked on and joined Sporting in 2020 and has already won the Taca da Liga twice and the Primeria Liga once. His current Sporting side sits pretty at the top of the division, with a huge chance of winning the title before his potential departure to Merseyside.
Despite, the 39-year-old manager starting in a 3-4-3, more commonly known as a defensive formation, Amorin's tactical flexibility is showcased through his attacking fullbacks, and his players are given total control in the attacking phases. Sporting's structure also enables them to play direct across the pitch. With the centre forward surrounded by teammates, longer balls are often dropped into Viktor Gyokeres, who lays passes off to the other forwards around him, while switches of play are extremely common due to the high and wide wing-backs. A system in which we could see the very best of Darwin Nunez as he looks to race in behind and play on the last line of the defense.
Furthermore, if the Portuguese manager is to make the switch to Anfield, we could see Trent-Alexander Arnold and Andrew Robertson excel due to Amorin deploying his fullbacks as wingbacks. This means the pair would be high and wide where they can create for Liverpool's rampant forward line. The high-intensity football would still be there as Sporting have 9.3 turnovers per game and Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool have 10.2 turnovers per game.
Gil Vicente head coach, Vitor Campelos, has praised the 39-year-old and is impressed with how he is coaching his current side. "He is always trying to improve his players too. He works with young talent but also with experienced players as well and what they all have in common is that they fight. They are really intense."
That intensity is what the Reds have shown under Jurgen Klopp and has been the key to the success they have had. Liverpool's squad is also a young one with hungry talents all over the pitch. Amorin has done wonders with players like Diamonde at Sporting and we could see him bring a few of his current squad with him over to Merseyside.
Amorin will have to establish a strong bond with the Liverpool faithful as Liverpool managers are always seen as the figurehead of the club. The likes of Bob Paisley, Bill Shankly, and most recently Jurgen Klopp have been the catalyst for winning trophies. The Merseyside Reds are looking to have a complete overhaul in the summer with new infrastructure at the top, with Michael Edwards returning and the appointment of Richard Hughes ( Read here for more information about the appointment).
The 39-year-old will have some job on his hands to replicate the success of Jurgen Klopp, but Amorin's playstyle is very similar and the current crop of Liverpool players will be able to adapt. The future looks very exciting for the Reds and Ruben Amorin could be the man to build a second dynasty at the club.