Manchester United are reportedly set to buy head coach Ruben Amorim out of his Sporting Lisbon contract for £16.5m less than what other clubs would have to pay courtesy of three release clauses.
The 39-year-old has been identified by the Red Devils as their number one target to succeed Erik ten Hag, who was sacked on Monday after two-and-a-half years at Old Trafford.
Man United's decision to relieve Ten Hag of his duties has been described as 'difficult and finely balanced' by the club's hierarchy, who only gave the Dutchman a new two-year contract in July.
The Red Devils' 2-1 defeat at West Ham United in the Premier League last weekend proved to be Ten Hag's final game in charge, and he leaves his team languishing 14th in the Premier League table and also 21st in the 36-team Europa League standings.
Ruud van Nistelrooy, who is allegedly reluctant to succeed Ten Hag on a permanent basis, has been placed in interim charge "while a permanent head coach is recruited" by Man United.
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How much must Man United pay for Amorim?
Since Man United confirmed Ten Hag's dismissal, multiple reports have claimed that the club have accelerated their pursuit of highly-rated Sporting boss Amorim.
A recent report claims that the Portuguese has now agreed in principle to become the new Red Devils head coach, after accepting the club's project and being 'convinced' to succeed Ten Hag.
According to Portuguese news outlet A Bola, Amorim's contract at Sporting, which expires in 2026, includes three different release clause that apply for certain clubs.
It is claimed that Amorim possesses a €30m (£25m) release clause for Portuguese clubs including Sporting's rivals Porto and Benfica, and has another valued at €20m (£16.6m) for 'almost all' foreign clubs.
The final release clause - and cheapest - is valued at just €10m (£8.5m) and this can be activated by 'European football giants' including Man United.
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Man United to appoint Amorim in cut-price deal?
Manchester City, who have also been linked with Amorim in recent weeks, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Juventus are also able to trigger this release clause, but it seems that Man United are at the front of the queue.
Should Man United activate Amorim's release clause, they will get their man for a whopping £16.5m less than what the likes of Porto and Benfica would have to pay and around £8m less than what clubs including West Ham, who were said to have held an interest in the Portuguese before appointing Julen Lopetegui, would have to fork out.
While this would come as somewhat of a financial boost for Man United, they are still having to fork out a reported £17m in compensation following the sacking of Ten Hag.
It is understood that the Red Devils would only have had to pay around £10m if the club's hierarchy decided to relieve Ten Hag of his duties in the summer.
While Man United finalise negotiations with Amorim, Van Nistelrooy will take charge of his first game as interim boss on Wednesday night when the Red Devils play host to Leicester City in the last 16 of the EFL Cup.
Oliver Thomas
