“I fear that Ruben Amorim wants to make obvious first Manchester United signing"

Benfica great Alvaro Magalhaes is concerned Ruben Amorim will make an immediate move to bring Alvaro Fernandez Carreras back to Manchester United once he begins his role as head coach.

United have reached an agreement that will see Sporting boss Amorim take charge of the club next Monday, with the 39-year-old expected to implement his familiar 3-4-3 formation at Old Trafford. Amorim is known for his unique tactical approach, which utilises wing-backs, with former United defender Carreras an ideal candidate for a role on the left under their new set-up.

As part of the deal to sell him to Benfica in the summer, United included a sell-on and a buy-back clause to ensure they protected his long-term valuation. ManchesterWorld understand that while the general release clause in Fernadez's deal stands at €50 million, United can activate their own right to buyback Fernandez for as little as €20m and they have another two years in which to trigger it before it expires in the 2026 summer transfer window.

It makes the 21-year-old an obvious transfer target and Benfica great Magalhaes is worried his favourite club could be about to lose one of their most promising talents.

“I fear that Ruben Amorim wants him at Manchester United,” he told Portuguese outlet A Bola. “It seems to me that he has the quality to be one of the first options and looking at the squad, I believe that with the new coaching staff he could become a possibility again, especially because the new coach knows him very well based on what he saw from him at Benfica.

“It would be a lot if Benfica had the ability to not let him escape, but now the decision is not just in the club’s hands. This ability to react to adversity seems to be his strength. Great players only succeed if they are mentally very strong and that seems to be the case.

“Anyone who is weak cannot play for Benfica, just as they cannot play for Real Madrid, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, or PSG. If he were weak, he would have already been released from Benfica and would be demonstrating quality in another team. Benfica were in time to not lose one of those players that we must fight to keep at the club due to his quality. I hope he has a lot of luck and continues to have a great season.”