Ruben Amorim wants Sporting's Ousmane Diomande to follow him to Man Utd

Less than a week after sacking Erik ten Hag, Man Utd confirmed the appointment of the 39-year-old on a contract until the summer of 2027 on Friday.

Interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy will remain in charge of the first-team before Amorim takes up his post on November 11 after the Red Devils agreed compensation for the Portuguese boss.

When one manager moves to another club, there is a tendency for some of his players to follow him - and that may be no different with Amorim.

In fact, The Sun reports that he wants to bring Diomande to United. The 20-year-old has been linked with Arsenal, Liverpool, and Bayern Munich but United may have the edge as Amorim knows the 6ft 3in defender well.

The report adds the Liga Portugal defending champions will only be willing to sell the Ivory Coast international, whose contract runs until 2027, if a club activates his £70m release clause.

Whether United will be prepared to splash out such a huge fee on another centre-back remains to be seen.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe's United spent nearly £100m on centre-backs Leny Yoro and Matthijs de Ligt this summer, plus they have Lisandro Martinez, Harry Maguire, Jonny Evans, and Victor Lindelof in that position, too.

While Yoro is on the comeback trail from a foot injury, the 18-year-old is seen as one of the brightest young talents in Europe and signing another player in his position could potentially limit his game time.

However, Amorim is said to want to implement his three-at-the-back system in the Premier League and that may leave room for Yoro, Diomande, and, perhaps, Martinez, in that backline.

But with Maguire linked with an Old Trafford exit, Evans turning 37 in January, and Lindelof seemingly set to leave at some point, more strength in depth at the back may be needed.

In summary, United may be reluctant to go big on another centre-back just months after splashing the cash on Yoro and De Ligt.

Incidentally, Diomande, who has scored four goals in 55 games for the Lisbon outfit, joined Sporting from FC Midtjylland in 2023 for a fee worth up to £10.4m. Now he is seemingly worth seven times that amount. 

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