Pete O’Rourke believes that it would be a great move for Leeds United to bring in Sporting manager Ruben Amorim to Elland Road.
Marcelo Bielsa’s contract is up at Elland Road at the end of this season and there is uncertainty over his long-term future at the club.
With the list of managers linked to the Leeds job growing, as per reports in Brazil, Ruben Amorim is the latest concerned with the role – and O’Rourke has told GiveMeSport his views.
“If Leeds could manage to persuade him to come to the club to replace Bielsa, if that was the case, I think it’d be a huge statement from the club as well,” O’Rourke said.
TIF Thoughts on the potential capture of Sporting manager Ruben Amorim…
Bielsa has been a superb servant for Leeds over the past four years and has progressed them into a Premier League side. But his time as Whites manager may be up as his contract is set to expire in the summer.
You would have thought that Leeds would seek to retain the services a manager that took them to a ninth-place finish in their first season back in the Premier League, though they are set to look elsewhere.
With the Whites vastly underperforming on the high standards they set last season, perhaps that is no surprise – while it is only right they prepare for a Bielsa exit given the Argentine’s fragile contract situation.
Amorim is a 37-year-old manager who has recently been linked to the Leeds job. But this could be a risky move for the Leeds board to make.
Although O’Rourke has described the possible introduction of the Portuguese manager to Elland Road as a ‘statement’, he has little experience as a manager and this could force key players out of the club.
For example, when discussing a new contract, Kalvin Phillips has said that he wants to know the fate of Bielsa’s future before making a decision, which implies that he will only sign a contract if the current manager stays, so the introduction of Amorim – or anyone else – could ruffle a few feathers.