Ruben Amorim was reportedly refused the chance to sign his preferred players by the recruitment team.
This revelation comes following Amorim’s sacking on Monday morning. While results on the pitch were cited as the primary reason for his exit, relationship with the club hierarchy had completely broken down, specially after his explosive interview post Leeds United draw.
Reports from The Sun have also suggested a fractured relationship between the Portuguese manager and the club’s hierarchy, specifically regarding recruitment.
It has emerged that Amorim was denied seven specific transfer targets including a future Champions League winner and a proven Premier League goalscorer in favor of “data-driven” alternatives that ultimately failed to deliver.
Manchester United refused Ruben Amorim his preferred targets
According to the report, Ruben Amorim wanted Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins but his request was rejected.
Amorim viewed the England international as the ideal Premier League proven hitman to lead his line.
Instead, Head of Recruitment Christopher Vivell and the board sanctioned a £74m move for RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko.
The decision has been disastrous, with Sesko netting just two goals in 17 Premier League appearances this season.
The report also claims Amorim was desperate to sign Nuno Mendes from PSG to play as his left wing-back.
The board refused, opting for Patrick Dorgu from Lecce instead. Cruelly for Amorim, Mendes went on to win the Champions League with PSG and was named in the 2025 FIFA FIFPRO World 11.
The other denied targets included Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez (United signed Senne Lammens instead) and a quartet of Amorim’s former Sporting Lisbon stars: Geovany Quenda, Ousmane Diomande, Salvador Blopa, and Morten Hjulmand.
Should Man United have allowed Ruben Amorim to sign his own players?
Amorim’s system relies heavily on specific profiles, experienced wing-backs and clinical finishers, yet he was prospects like Sesko and Dorgu who needed time he didn’t have.
By refusing to sanction moves for proven winners like Watkins and Martinez, the United hierarchy effectively asked Amorim to cook a five-star meal with ingredients he didn’t choose.
The result, a disjointed squad and a sacked manager, suggests that until the board aligns its wallet with its manager’s vision, the cycle of failure at Old Trafford is destined to continue.
the owners are really destroying the club slowly everytime they said coach but they never give what the coaches want
For me the question now is who is going to make the decisions in the transfer market that’s open now? Don’t tell me it will be the management team or Jason Wilcox. How can they or indeed anyone left at the club sign players that the next manager might not want? Does that mean there will be no signings in the current transfer window or?
All bull#%%%%. United have spent hundreds or millions of dollars to support their managers. When the manager fails United is left with a team of subpar mediocre players. Building a good team takes time. Ruben should have done better with this squad period.
you’re foolish and naive to build a squad you didn’t need the signed players. think before you soeak. loud empty skull. Even if the board signs a new manger. if he can’t sign his own desire players. the club will sink. the board is the problem. sell the club to Arab giants let have peace fir ones
can you make pizza with sandwich ingredients?
The management at Old Trafford is ruining the club very quickly. Imagine if they had signed Martínez as goalkeeper; by now we could be in 2nd place in the league, because most of the goals that have been conceded, Martínez could have saved. Imagine letting Mendes go just to sign Dorgu; do you really understand football or are you just driven by your own ego… Christopher Vivell, why???? They let this young winger Geovany Quenda go to Chelsea… just to frustrate the coach, or what was the reason…? These two men, Jason Wilcox and Berrada, should have been fired yesterday… Right now, they want to hire Ole, who previously failed at Old Trafford and was even fired just a few months ago… You could have let Fletcher continue instead….