‘Obvious option’ – Man Utd legend tipped to replace Ruben Amorim

Sir Alex Ferguson’s former assistant Rene Meulensteen believes a Manchester United legend is the ‘obvious option’ to replace Ruben Amorim.

Amorim is fighting to save his job at Old Trafford following a dismal first ten months to his reign since replacing Erik ten Hag last November.

Manchester United were 14th when Ten Hag was sacked but ended the season in an worse position under Amorim.

United are still in the bottom-half of the table after four games of the new season, with the Red Devils’ only win so far coming against newly-promoted Burnley.

Amorim’s side are also already out of the Carabao Cup after suffering an embarrassing defeat to League Two side Grimsby Town.

The former Sporting manager still has the support of the Manchester United board for now but that could well change if results do not improve before the next international break in three games time.

Ex-United coach Meulensteen believes Amorim ‘could be gone’ by Christmas and says he could leave the club with ‘no choice’ given his ‘stubborn’ methods.

If Amorim does lose his job, former Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick would be the ‘obvious option’ to take over, according to Fergie’s old assistant.

Carrick had a brief spell as United caretaker manager after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked in November 2021 before Ralf Ranging took over until the end of the season.

The five-time Premier League winner is a highly-rated coach and enjoyed a productive spell in charge of Middlesbrough before being sacked by the Championship club in the summer.

‘Could Ruben Amorim be gone before Christmas?, Absolutely, he could well be,’ Meulensteen told BetVictor.

‘I think if he keeps being as stubborn as he is and the results don’t improve, he doesn’t keep winning, then there’s definitely no other way than the club has to make a decision.

‘I mean, how long are you going to keep traveling in the wrong direction? Maybe you get the odd result like you did against Burnley, with a last-minute penalty to get that one over the line. Otherwise, they would have not won a game.

‘They’ve got some tough, tough fixtures coming up, but like I said, there is definitely a possibility he goes in the next few months.

‘If he keeps that approach, then I think there’s only one way he’s heading: to the exit. I can’t see anything different.’

Discussing the possible replacements for Amorim, who won back-to-back league titles at Sporting, Meulensteen added: ‘Michael Carrick might be the obvious option if Ruben Amorim was to go.

‘Obviously Michael Carrick still knows quite a few players that were there when he was there. So he’s still got some good inside information.

‘He obviously knows the club and knows what’s expected from the club. The key is that you need to have a guy that obviously has got a clear idea but puts some kind of a structure in place that the players buy into and that you get a spark from the players.

‘Because they’re not bad players, there’s plenty of good players there. I’m sure that if they would play in a system that suits them, they really play at the best.

‘I think you could see a fantastic Manchester United. Maybe Michael could well be the guy. It’s not magic, it’s common sense more than anything, that’s it and Carrick has got plenty of that.’

Amorim’s side lost 3-0 to Man City last weekend and their task might not get much easier with Club World Cup champions Chelsea visiting Old Trafford on Saturday.

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