Ruben Amorim could inadvertently play a role in sending Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid next summer.
Manchester United's new head coach has only been in office for eleven days, but the rumor mill has already started. Amorim has been continually linked with moves by his standouts at Sporting Lisbon, with Viktor Gyokeres the main player who could follow him to Old Trafford.
But the 39-year-old coach's influence extends beyond Sporting, where he spent four very successful years and won two league titles. He has a huge fan base in North London and has played a big role in the development of Tottenham right-back Pedro Porro.
Porro spent two and a half seasons under Amorim at Sporting, where he won one league title and two national cups. The 25-year-old moved to Tottenham from Sporting in January 2023, initially on loan, before signing permanently in the summer for around £40 million.
If Spanish AS is to be believed, people close to Porro are 'convinced' that Amorim will try to bring the full-back to United in the near future. Amorim will implement a 3-4-3 formation at Old Trafford that could suit Porro perfectly, but his future could be intertwined with that of Liverpool star Alexander-Arnold thanks to Real Madrid.
Real want to sign a new right-back to become the long-term successor to the injured Dani Carvajal and are interested in both Porro and Alexander-Arnold. But one seems much more likely than the other, due to their contractual situation.
While Alexander-Arnold is out of contract with Liverpool in June, Porro is still under contract with Spurs until June 2028. AS reports that Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy values him at 70 million euros and will not budge – a fact that Real have become aware of with their dealings with Luka Modric and Gareth Bale in the past.
Tottenham's reluctance to do business with Real and Porro could lure Alexander-Arnold to Madrid. The 26-year-old has been coy about his plans, but the temptation to join good friend Jude Bellingham in the Spanish capital is certainly there, while the situation surrounding his team-mates Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah is another factor to consider to keep.
Like Alexander-Arnold, Salah and Van Dijk's contracts expire this summer and they have also not yet agreed new terms. But they are at a later stage in their careers and are more likely to stay there.
“Look, I've been at the club for 20 years now, I've signed four or five contract extensions and none of them have played out in public,” Alexander-Arnold said in September. “And this one won't be either. I want to be a Liverpool player this season (at least), that's what I'll say.
“The most important thing is always trophies, if I'm honest. I want to win trophies, I'm a player who is very motivated by trophies, winning things and being elite. So that's probably the most important factor of all, if you've done a personality who belongs to the elite, who wants to win and will do anything to win, that is what drives me.”
Comments