West Ham United linked Ruben Amorim could very well be set for an exit from Sporting CP this summer.
Ruben Amorim is someone who is on the West Ham owners’ list of potential replacements for David Moyes, with the Scot still yet to sign an extension on his current contract that is set to expire in the summer.
Moyes, 60, is under intense pressure in his role as Hammers boss right now, with the likes of Fulham manager Marco Silva apparently being lined up to replace him.
The next two weeks of football will be pivotal to the Scot’s hopes of remaining in charge at the London Stadium.
We face Premier League games against Fulham and Crystal Palace, along with a two-legged Europa League quarter-final clash with Bayer Leverkusen.
If we gets six points from the two London derbies and progress through to the semi-final in Europe, it would be hard to argue against Moyes being handed a new deal.
However, if things go pear shaped between now and April 21st, it will be clear for everyone to see that the experienced gaffer needs to be moved on.
But who is the best candidate to replace him? You would be hard pushed not to mentioned Amorim’s name when answering that question.
And now it seems as though there is some good news for the Hammers regarding a potential move to appoint the Portuguese…
Major Ruben Amorim boost for West Ham
Make no bones about it, Amorim is the absolute perfect manager to come in and take the Hammers to the next level, and it has been claimed that he’s on the radar of the club’s owners to replace Moyes (Claret and Hugh).
I personally think that the Sporting coach is exactly the man we need to take us on to another level. That’s in no way undermining the job that Moyes has done at the London Stadium.
However, I believe that the Scot has reached his ceiling in charge of the Hammers – the style of play that he implements is not conducive with challenging for the top five or six on a consistent basis.
So, will it be at all possible for West Ham to appoint Amorim this summer? Or is it just a pipe-dream? It seems as though there may well be an outside chance…
According to Fabrizio Romano, Amorim has a £26 million release clause inserted into his contract, but that only applies to fellow Portuguese clubs.
The release clause for foreign clubs stands at £17 million, although Romano suggested Sporting may well be willing to accept a fee closer to £8.5 million for the 39-year-old:
£8.5 million would be an absolute steal for a manager with the 39-year-old’s calibre.
Here’s exactly what Ruben Amorim would bring to West Ham
Pep Guardiola once described Amorim as one of the best coaches around (Tribal Football), and he’s not wrong.
He deploys a 3-4-3 system that switches into a 5-2-3 when defending. His likes his team to play a really aggressive high press, and in order to get this to work, his players have to be highly energetic and physically robust.
This season, his side have averaged 58.4% possession – only the fourth highest in the Primeira Liga (Fbref). Against their rivals, they usually have less possession – their 2-1 win over Benfica on Saturday with 45% of the ball is evidence of this.
So Amorim is not entirely focused on his team having the ball at all times. He’s extremely flexible in his approach to the game.
You only needed to watch Sporting’s clashes with Premier League side Arsenal in the Europa League last season to see what incredible football the Portuguese coach has his side playing.
Amorim has only been managing for six years and has been in charge of Sporting since 2020.
Since then, he has transformed the Portuguese giants into one of the most exciting teams to watch on the planet.
The 39-year-old guided Sporting to the league title in the 2020/21 season and the league cup in the same campaign. He also won the same cup competition a year later – a trophy that he guided Braga to in the 2019/20 season.
His side are currently sitting at the top of the league, four points clear of second placed Benfica with a game in hand.
If we manage to keep the likes of Lucas Paqueta, Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen, and add a couple more top-class signings in the summer, I firmly believe that Ruben Amorim could take West Ham to the next level.
By that I mean pushing for the top five places in the table, and after Romano’s latest claim, it seems as though the 39-year-old could at least be attainable this summer.
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