Manchester United have confirmed the appointment of Ruben Amorim as their new head coach.
The 39-year-old will leave Sporting Lisbon after the international break and join the Red Devils on November 11.
His first match in charge of United will be the Premier League trip to Ipswich Town on November 24.
A club statement read: “He [Amorim] will join until June 2027 with a club option of an additional year, once he has fulfilled his obligations to his current club. He will join Manchester United on Monday 11 November.
“Ruben is one of the most exciting and highly rated young coaches in European football. Highly decorated as both a player and coach, his titles include winning the Primeira Liga twice in Portugal with Sporting CP; the first of which was the club’s first title in 19 years.”
Interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy will oversee the club’s next three matches against Chelsea, PAOK and Leicester.
The Red Devils sacked Erik ten Hag on Monday after failing to win five of their opening nine Premier League games.
United paid Sporting a £9.2million fee to land Amorim and five of his coaching staff, including 29-year-old assistant Carlos Fernandes.
Amorim has been given the title of ‘head coach’, as opposed to Ten Hag who was ‘first-team manager’, marking the first time this has happened in United’s history.
Ten Hag was heavily involved in United’s transfer policy and talkSPORT understands this will not be the case with the club’s new sporting structure under Sir Jim Ratcliffe, led by Sir Dave Brailsford and Dan Ashworth.
It was hoped among the Old Trafford hierarchy that Amorim would be appointed in time to take the team for their Premier League clash at home to Chelsea on Sunday.
The ex-Portugal midfielder was the only person considered by United, who sent a delegation to Lisbon on Monday to explore an earlier release.
But Amorim will stay in the Sporting dugout for their next three games, including against Manchester City in the Champions League next week.
Sporting face Estrela da Amadora at home on Friday night in the Primeira Liga, while his final match in charge of the Portuguese giants will be a trip to former club Braga on November 10th.
Speaking on Thursday, Amorim admitted he was keen for an end to the ‘soap opera’ surrounding his appointment at United.
“The soap opera is coming to an end,” Amorim said in a press conference.
“The fact that I can’t be so clear creates a lot of difficulty for me.”
talkSPORT understands Amorim is set to triple his current £2.15million-a-year salary when he joins United.
Sporting have won five major trophies under Amorim, including their first league title in 19 years in 2021 and a follow-up in 2024.
Amorim has emerged as one of Europe’s most highly-rated coaches with his intense and youthful approach.
His teams are known for a dynamic 3-4-3 formation, attacking as a 3-2-5 and defending as a 5-2-3.
