'It has to be' - Ruben Amorim reveals how much transfer power he has at Manchester United
Man Utd head coach Ruben Amorim spoke to the press for the first time on Friday afternoon.
Ruben Amorim insists he will have an influence on Manchester United’s transfer dealings despite being appointed 'head coach' rather than 'first-team manager.'
The 39-year-old was quickly identified as United's top candidate for their managerial vacancy after they sacked Erik ten Hag, in part down to his ability to improve players, as well as his impressive transfer track record at Sporting.
Since they arrived at the club, Ineos have looked to overhaul the club's transfer strategy by appointing a best-in-class recruitment team fronted by sporting director Dan Ashworth and technical director Jason Wilcox. They have aimed to sign players for the club rather than the manager, to ensure they are future-proofed to fit in, irrespective of who leads the team on a daily basis.
The change in approach cast doubt over the level of influence Amorim would have at Old Trafford, but he is adamant he will have a strong say on any transfer business they do. "I think it has to be all together, because if you are a coach that is coming here and already chose the players he could be wrong," he told reporters. "Because this is a football club that will be here for a long time and you as a coach don’t know that.
"Everybody has to work together and for that we have to improve the process on recruitment, the data, the profile of players we want, but I have to have a strong position on that because I am the coach, I know how to play, so I think it’s all together but the final word should be the manager. Not just because it’s your right but your responsibility. Because in the end, the result is to me, so I think it’s all together improve the process of recruitment, I have to understand the league - that is important - and when everything is aligned, all the ideas, everybody is on the same page, we can buy and sell players. I'm saying here it’s not the final but I have a great responsibility when we choose players because this is something that should be done this way. I’m the manager, the head coach, so I have to choose the players."