Sporting coach Ruben Amorim said "nothing is decided yet" with regards to his future after an approach from Manchester United to become their new manager.
The Premier League giants parted ways with Erik ten Hag on Monday just 24 hours after a damaging, last-gasp defeat to West Ham left United languishing 14th in the table.
Amorim, 39, quickly emerged as the leading contender to replace the Dutchman and a statement issued by Sporting to the Lisbon stock exchange on Tuesday said United were willing to meet his €10 million release clause.
The Portuguese was guarded when asked after Sporting's League Cup win against Nacional on Tuesday night if that was his last match with the Lisbon club.
"Nobody knows whether this was my farewell match. Nothing is decided yet," Amorim said.
Despite spending heavily in the transfer market in the summer, United have won one of their last eight games in all competitions.
Former United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy has been named interim boss and will take charge of Wednesday's League Cup tie against Leicester City.
While the names of former Barcelona boss Xavi and ex-England manager Gareth Southgate have been mentioned as possible candidates, United appear to be concentrating on Amorim, who is considered one of Europe's leading young coaches.
He has won two Portuguese titles with Sporting since joining the club in March 2020 and are currently top of the Primeira Liga, three points ahead of Porto.
Amorim had dismissed the speculation when quizzed on Monday ahead of the League Cup match.
"I'm not going to talk about my future," he said. "I'm very proud to be the coach of Sporting Lisbon."
Pep Guardiola, manager of United's crosstown rivals Manchester City, said he believed United will be getting a high-level coach in Amorim but warned success depends on much more than the credentials of one individual.
Guardiola came up against Amorim in the Uefa Champions League last 16 in early 2022, held to a goalless draw in Manchester before Bernardo Silva scored twice in a convincing 5-0 win in Portugal.
When asked if Amorim has what it takes to succeed in the Premier League, Guardiola said: “All I can talk about is the experience of playing twice against Ruben’s Sporting Lisbon team, one or two seasons ago, and the pressure was really, really good.
“I spoke with Matheus Nunes, and he was his player, and he speaks highly about him. And look this season, he is unbeaten and winning all the games in the Portuguese League and the Champions League, [they have] the same points as us.
“So a high manager. I have the feeling that Man United, what I hear, that they are thinking about him, it’s because he’s a good manager. Man United don’t appoint managers who aren’t at that level so we cannot say they are not able to lead Man United.”
Guardiola said he felt sorry for the outgoing Ten Hag, who he knew from their time together at Bayern Munich, when Guardiola was the head coach and Ten Hag was in charge of the club’s reserves.
Asked if he would offer the Dutchman support, Guardiola said his door at City would be open to Ten Hag, but that he did not expect the 54-year-old to need it.
“Ten Hag can come to see us any time, seriously,” he said..
Amorim was linked with the manager's role at Liverpool following the departure of Jurgen Klopp this year, but Dutch coach Arne Slot headed to Anfield instead.
The position of Ten Hag, 54, had been repeatedly called into question after United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe, who made overtures to other managers, retained him – and even granted the Dutchman a contract extension – following an internal review at the end of last season when the club finished eighth in the league but won the FA Cup with a shock victory over Manchester City.
But United, who last won the Premier League in 2013, have shown little improvement this season
The former Ajax coach, who joined United in May 2022, had fiercely defended his record, arguing he deserved respect for winning two trophies – he guided United to the 2023 League Cup title – in his two full seasons.
However, in his second season, injuries to key players, the lack of impact from expensive signings such as Brazilian Antony and Ten Hag's failure to implement a clear playing style put him on the road to failure.
United crashed out of the Champions League at the group stage and suffered a string of defeats at Old Trafford last season.
Ten Hag was backed in the transfer market, spending nearly £600 million – nearly half of which went on former Ajax players, the Dutch club United recruited him from.
United managers' expenditure in transfer market
Yet early hope this season evaporated as Liverpool and Tottenham both won with ease at Old Trafford in September.
In truth, Ten Hag oversaw just a small period of United's more general decline since legendary former manager Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 after the club were crowned champions of England for a record 20th time.
Five full-time managers have come and gone since then.
Speaking post-match on Sunday to preview United's League Cup tie against Leicester on Wednesday, Ten Hag indicated he thought winning a trophy in his third season would make it a success.
"Definitely, it's about trophies," he replied in comments which were embargoed until Tuesday.
"If you win a trophy in pro football, that is most important because that is what the fans expect and what we expect, to win a trophy."
