Peter Schmeichel has urged Manchester United to hire a coach, as opposed to a manager, to ensure they complement Ineos and the new structure at Old Trafford.

“The structure [at Manchester United] fits someone like Ruben Amorim or Thomas Frank,” Schmeichel tells BBC Sport. “We’ve not tried this yet, it could be the time to try a ‘coach’ [rather than a ‘manager’]. Roberto de Zerbi would have worked, he’s a pure coach.

“There’s a few names there on the list of possible candidates. That structure that they’ve put in place now, it has to work 100% to make it happen.”

Ruben Amorim featured for Braga at Old Trafford against Manchester United back in 2012.

The hosts won 3-2 on the night, with Amorim featuring on the right-side of midfield for the Portuguese side.

Hugo Viana also played that evening, with the current Sporting director of sport poised to take over at Manchester City next season following Txiki Begiristain’s planned departure in 2025.

Ruben Amorim’s stock has risen considerably throughout his four-year tenure at Sporting. He broke the domestic dominance of rivals Benfica and Porto by ending the club’s 19-year title drought with a memorable Primeira Liga triumph in 2021, alongside a League Cup victory.

Yet all his rapid success as a coach follows a successful 14-year career as a player, too, in which he won 14 caps for his native Portugal.

Amorim, who hails from Lisbon, made his senior first-team debut in 2003 for Belenenses in the Portuguese first division before signing for Benfica in the summer of 2008.

It was at the Estadio da Luz where he spent the majority of his playing days, making 154 appearances across six seasons in which he fell in and out of favour with long-term boss Jorge Jesus, playing mainly in central midfield but also utilised at right-back.

Should Ruben Amorim become Manchester United manager, he would be just the fourth Premier League manager under the age of 40.

The 39-year-old would be the fourth-youngest manager in the division, behind Brighton’s Fabian Hurzeler (31), Ipswich’s Kieran McKenna and Southampton’s Russell Martin (both 38).

Manchester United could pay as little as €10m in compensation for the services of head coach Ruben Amorim, according to the Times.

In his latest Sporting contract, the coach’s release clause for another Portuguese club is a lofty €30m.

But a small number of elite clubs, including Manchester United, can trigger his release clause for roughly a third of that figure.

Ruben Amorim could find one of his key players from his Sporting side in 2022/23 if he joins Manchester United.

Then, Amorim could rely on a dynamic Manuel Ugarte, who has since joined both Paris Saint-Germain and now United, with a £50.5m fee for the Uruguayan this summer.

But if United had reservations about the value left in the £179m outlay this summer without Erik ten Hag, there would be hope Ugarte could replicate arguably the form of his career under the Portuguese coach at Old Trafford.

Manchester City’s position on Ruben Amorim has not changed despite Manchester United opening talks with the Portuguese, The Independent understands.

Despite the links that have been made following the appointment of Hugo Viana as Manchester City’s new sporting director, there has never been interest in Amorim from the champions.

City’s preference is for Guardiola to stay beyond the season, although his contract is set to expire at the end of this campaign.

Ruben Amorim already has a vast amount of experience managing in Uefa competitions. He has coached 37 matches in Europe with Sporting, winning 14, drawing 10 and losing 14 across the Champions League and Europa League.

His best performance in the Champions League came in 2021/22 when Sporting reached the round of 16. Manchester City won 5-0 in Lisbon, before a goalless draw at the Etihad rounded out the tie.

However, Erik ten Hag had a good record in Europe with Ajax after taking the Dutch club to the brink of the Champions League final in 2019. It didn’t help him at Old Trafford.

Ruben Amorim is in talks to become the next manager of Manchester United, with the 39-year-old set to finally take the next step in his coaching career after being linked with some of the biggest jobs in Europe as a result of his impressive work at Sporting Lisbon.

The Portuguese is considering the opportunity to replace Erik ten Hag as United negotiate with Sporting over his release fee. United’s football operations department placed Amorim at the top of their list and are hoping he can be convinced to leave Sporting mid-season.

If United are successful, they will appoint a manager who has been one of the most in-demand coaches in Europe over the last year.

Ruben Amorim’s potential move to Manchester United has seen Sporting Lisbon move for a successor.

And Joao Pereira, currently in charge of the B team, has been identified as a candidate to take charge of the team, according to A Bola.

Pereira enjoyed three spells with Sporting during his playing career and was part of Amorim’s title-winning team in 2021.

“Joao Pereira is making his mark, I think he is an excellent coach,” Amorim said last season. “he has all the conditions to become Sporting ‘s coach.”