Ruben Amorim’s first match in charge of Manchester United will not come until after the international break.
United have reached an deal in principle with Sporting Lisbon after agreeing personal terms with Amorim to succeed the sacked Erik ten Hag.
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It was hoped among the Old Trafford hierarchy that Amorim would be appointed in time to take the team for their Premier League clash at home to Chelsea on Sunday.
However, in a twist to the tale, Amorim will stay in the Sporting dugout for their next three games, including against Manchester City in the Champions League next week.
His first game as United manager is set to be against Ipswich Town after the international break on November 24.
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United have agreed to pay Sporting a £9.2million fee and five members of Amorim’s background team will follow him to Manchester, including long-serving assistant Carlos Fernandes.
It means interim United manager Ruud van Nistelrooy – who oversaw a 5-2 victory over Leicester in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday – will remain in charge for their next three matches.
He will face Chelsea and Leicester in the Premier League either side of a Europa League clash against PAOK – with all three games at Old Trafford.
When asked about his future as interim boss, Van Nistelrooy told talkSPORT: “The club said it will be short term, that was very clear. As long as possible, I will do this job and get the team going and give everything that I have in me.
“After that, we have to see. But I have to say, I came here as an assistant, this role again I will carry out as long as it’s needed.
“And after that in any capacity I’m willing to support this club and build and make it better in any way possible.”
talkSPORT understands incoming Red Devils boss Amorim would have preferred to have his Sporting swansong on Friday night, where they face Estrela Amadora in the Primeira Liga.
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However, due to a notice clause in his contract, Amorim is now required to take charge until November 10.
The 39-year-old is thought to be reluctant to take charge of the Champions League clash against Man City but wants to be respectful to Sporting’s wishes.
Amorim had been identified as a potential successor to Pep Guardiola at Man City, but sources in Portugal say he was not willing to wait for the Spaniard to make a decision over his future.
City insiders say Amorim’s style of play does not fit perfectly with their squad and there is also growing confidence Guardiola will stay for at least one more season when his contract expires in the summer.
United met Amorim last week to lay the foundations for him to replace Ten Hag having decided they were not making rapid enough progress under the Dutchman in terms of performances and results.
With Amorim’s departure now an open secret, the former Portugal midfielder was forced to comment after his side’s 3-1 Taca da Liga win over Nacional on Tuesday night.
“Nothing is decided yet. I don’t know if it’s the farewell game or not,” he said.
“We have to wait a little bit more to explain everything I need to explain and then everything will be very clear.
“It’s my decision. I will tell everything so we have to wait. That’s it.”
Sporting’s win moved them to the semi-finals of the Taca, a competition they have won two times already under Amorim.
In fact, the Lisbon giants have picked up five titles under the coaching sensation, including their first league title in 19 years in 2021 before a follow up in 2024.
They currently lead this season’s league table by three points from Porto with a whopping goal difference of +28 after nine games.
That’s a huge contrast to United, who are off to their worst-ever Premier League start.
Despite ending last season with an FA Cup win over rivals City, Ten Hag led the team to a record of four wins, six draws and four defeats in all competitions in 2024/25 before his firing.
In the Premier League United had three wins and four defeats, leaving them in 14th after a damning defeat to an out-of-sorts West Ham side.
