He’d get Sesko firing: Man Utd could sack Amorim to hire “top-drawer” coach
Chelsea have already pulled the trigger with Enzo Maresca, but will 2026 also prove to be the end for Ruben Amorim at Manchester United?
It is gearing up for a potentially seismic period of change across the Premier League, with Thomas Frank and Arne Slot both under scrutiny at Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool, respectively, while the word is that Manchester City are lining up replacements for Pep Guardiola ahead of next season.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has stated recently that Amorim will be given three years to impress at Old Trafford, although Tuesday’s dismal draw with bottom-side Wolverhampton Wanderers has again thrown his position into doubt.
With a pivotal month in store that includes away trips to Elland Road and the Emirates, alongside the Manchester derby, it is approaching make-or-break time for United’s Portuguese coach.
Why Amorim's position should be under threat at Man Utd
The midweek stalemate with Wolves marked Amorim’s 44th Premier League game in charge, since replacing Erik ten Hag in November 2024, with the 40-year-old picking up just 14 wins in that time and registering a woeful 1.2 points per game average.
For context, during his heady days at Sporting CP, the promising coach romped to a 2.47 points per game average, having remarkably won 129 of his 166 games in charge.
Such success – and the Portuguese’s 3-4-3 set-up – simply hasn’t been replicated in England’s top tier, however, with Amorim the man to have overseen the club’s worst-ever Premier League finish last time out.
Improvements, undoubtedly, have been made this time around, although it’s hardly been an ideal festive period, with the Red Devils winning just one of their last five home games, a run that has included favourable match-ups with the likes of Wolves, West Ham United and a ten-man Everton.
There is the caveat that Amorim has been hamstrung by injury and AFCON absentees, but his selection decisions are beginning to grate, notably reverting back to a back three last time out, despite appearing to find some rhythm with Patrick Dorgu as a right-winger in a 4-3-3.
Unfortunately, there are echoes of Ten Hag’s final days, with the Dutchman memorably hooking scorer Marcus Rashford at the break away in Porto, only for United to proceed to draw 3-3 in that chaotic Europa League clash.
Like with his predecessor, Amorim doesn’t appear to be helping himself, even with a depleted squad, with change in the dugout potentially in the offing.
Man Utd's perfect Amorim replacement could get Sesko firing
For all Ratcliffe’s public backing, behind the scenes it might well be a different story, with reports earlier this week indicating that INEOS are working on a possible succession plan.
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Indeed, the belief is that Crystal Palace’s Oliver Glasner is being discussed internally as a potential ‘safe pair of hands’, with the Austrian’s own future in doubt at Selhurst Park with just six months left on his contract.
The former Eintracht Frankfurt boss – who won the Europa League with the Bundesliga side – did actually steer Palace to a 2-1 defeat to Amorim’s side not too long ago, although that should not overshadow the fine work he has done with the Eagles in recent seasons.
An FA Cup winner last time out, Glasner has worked wonders to turn Palace into a real European contender, even while having lost the likes of Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze in successive summers.
That is certainly the view of ex-Palace man Clinton Morrison, who has lauded him as a “top-drawer” coach.
The 51-year-old’s biggest success, arguably, has been overseeing the transformation of reported United target Jean-Philippe Mateta, with the towering Frenchman scoring 38 league goals since the start of 2023/24.
Indeed, 39 of the 28-year-old’s 55 goals for the club have come in just 87 games under Glasner, having played 180 times in total since arriving from Mainz in January 2021.
Mateta vs Sesko – 24/25 League stats
Stat (*per game)
Mateta
Sesko
Games
37
33
Starts
33
30
Goals
14
13
Assists
2
5
Mins per goal
190min
185min
Goal conversion
20%
19%
Big chances missed
19
10
Big chances created
7
5
Total duels won*
38%
45%
Stats via Sofascore
Perhaps, Glasner could work wonders with another 6 foot 4, Bundesliga import at Old Trafford, with Benjamin Sesko enduring his own slow start in English football, after scoring just twice to date.
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Like Mateta, however – who scored 27 goals in 71 games in Germany – there is a talent in there to be unleashed, with the £74m Slovenian having netted 39 times in 87 games at RB Leipzig.
Noted to be a stylistically similar player to Mateta among their Premier League peers, as per FBref, Sesko could be another physical focal point for Glasner to work around, having reaped the rewards of his own 3-4-3 or 3-4-2-1 set-up.
Those at United may be wary of turning toward another coach who typically favours a back three, although if utilised successfully – and with a Mateta-like figure leading the line – Glasner could replicate his Palace heroics up in Manchester.
He might well be the man to finally get Sesko firing too.
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