Ruben Amorim is urging Manchester United to build a brand new scouting team in Portugal.
The new United boss believes the club's network in his home country has declined since Cristiano Ronaldo arrived at the club 21 years ago – and wants a restart.
Ronaldo was signed by Sporting as a teenager in 2003 and became a goalscoring legend at Old Trafford under Sir Alex Ferguson before moving to Real Madrid. Nani, another Portuguese winger from Sporting, also had a successful spell in Manchester. But Amorim is concerned that the top young talent in his home country has been missed by United in recent years.
Only Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot, signed in 2020 and 2018 respectively, have had a significant impact at United in recent years and young stars from Portugal have increasingly moved elsewhere in recent years.
Players such as Bernardo Silva and Ruben Dias ended up at rivals Manchester City, either through springboard clubs such as Monaco or directly. Others from the region have slipped through United's net, with Chelsea's Pedro Neto a prime example.
Wolves initially signed the Portuguese winger as a teenager after moving to Italy with Lazio, before selling him to Chelsea for £54 million. Neto was tracked by United BEFORE his move to Italy.
Another is Joao Neves, who PSG signed last summer as a replacement for Manuel Ugarte when he opted to move to United.
Now former Sporting coach Amorim is determined to ensure United are ready to seize the opportunity as a new wave of potential stars emerges in his homeland. Sporting full-back Geovany Quenda got his head from Amorim despite being just 17, is already a full international and carries a hefty price tag of £25m. Similarly, Benfica centre-back Antonio Silva is valued at almost £50m at the age of 20 and is seen in some quarters as a younger version of Dias.
Comments