Portuguese football club Sporting have said they have received an approach from Manchester United for their manager, Ruben Amorim.
Sporting also said the Old Trafford club have “expressed interest” in paying the €10m (£8.3m) release clause in their boss’s contract.
United sacked their previous coach, Dutchman Erik ten Hag, on Monday.
Amorim led Sporting to their first league title in 19 years in 2021 and repeated the achievement with the Lisbon club last season.
So far this season, his side have won all nine of their league games and are top of their league.
The 39-year-old is one of the most sought-after young coaches in football and had reportedly been in the running to replace Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.
Sporting said in a statement: “Manchester United FC expressed interest in hiring coach Ruben Amorim, with Sporting’s board of directors referring to the terms and conditions set out in the employment contract in force between the company and the coach, specifically the respective termination clause and for the amount of €10,000,000.”
Amorim is a former midfielder who spent the majority of his club career at Benfica.
His contract at Sporting expires in 2026.
Read more:
Manchester United line up Amorim
Analysis: Man Utd dithered over Ten Hag sacking – as Old Trafford chaos drags on
Interim United manager Ruud van Nistelrooy will be in charge of the team for the first time on Wednesday when they face Leicester City in a round of 16 match in the Carabao Cup.
Ten Hag, 54, was told on Monday morning he was sacked following two and a half years in charge, a day after the team lost 2-1 at West Ham.
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Erik ten Hag sacked
A series of bad results, including 3-0 home defeats to Tottenham and Liverpool, seriously dented the side’s start to the Premier League season this year, in which they have won only three times.
Sunday’s defeat left them 14th in the Premier League with 11 points from nine games.
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Ten Hag, who spent over £600m in transfer fees during his tenure, is United’s fifth permanent manager in the 11 years since club legend Sir Alex Ferguson retired, and the team has not won the Premier League in that time.
Ten Hag signed a three-year deal with United in 2022, taking over from the club’s interim coach Ralf Rangnick after former coach and club legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer departed.