Sporting CP head coach Ruben Amorim has reportedly agreed in principle to join Liverpool this summer to replace outgoing manager Jurgen Klopp, per Sky Germany, though the Premier League club have denied that this is the case. The Portuguese tactician is said to have verbally indicated his willingness to accept a three-year deal at Anfield with an exit clause in his current contract with the Lisbon club.
Amorim, 39, has not yet signed any contract and no agreement has been reached between Liverpool and Sporting but the Portuguese outfit's terms are clear in his current deal. Bayern Munich had been interested in Amorim to replace Thomas Tuchel as an alternative to Xabi Alonso, who is officially staying with Bayer Leverkusen after also being linked with the Reds as a former player.
Liverpool have started to make changes ahead of next season including Michael Edwards returning as the chief executive of soccer as well as Richard Hughes' future arrival from Bournemouth as sporting director. SL Benfica's Pedro Marques has also been linked with the Premier League giants in a senior backroom capacity.
Who is Amorim?
A title winning head coach at just 36, he was quickly identified as a rapidly rising prospect when Sporting paid big money to secure Amorim from Braga. A hard working, intelligent and full-blooded player, he has brought many of those qualities into his coaching career. Amorim has also shown himself to be patient, though, not jumping at the first opportunity to be linked with and instead waiting for the right opportunity to come along which it now has.
Why Amorim?
This is not the first time that the Portuguese tactician has been linked with an EPL gig but it is by far and away the most high profile and the timing is also better than previous openings at the likes of Aston Villa. Not yet 40, but impressive in the relatively challenging circumstances with Sporting, Amorim has looked set for a top European job for some time and Liverpool now appear to have won that race. He has won the league once and the cup twice with the Lions despite playing for Lisbon rivals Benfica and he also led SC Braga to a Portuguese cup title in the first of three consecutive wins across two different clubs. Amorim could add even more success to that promise with another title to sign off on this season with Sporting, four points clear with a game in hand.
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Is Amorim ready for Liverpool?
There is no doubt that the transition from Estadio Jose Alvalade to Anfield would be a challenge for Amorim but he has rarely been out of big club environments which prepares him well for this next challenge. As a Benfica player which won three league titles, he also represented Portugal in 2010 at the FIFA World Cup and was versatile so understands the nuts and bolts of different tactics but also positions and team chemistry. Injury ended his career prematurely in his early 30s but offered him an advanced start in coaching which he has used to set impressive pace. Sporting paid an eight-digit fee to secure Amorim from Braga after his meteoric rise via Casa Pia in the third tier and now he has created a sense of stability at an infamously complicated club.
