A man in demand - why Amorim is ready to elite

The end-of-season managerial merry-go-round will take on even more significance this summer with European superpowers Barcelona, Liverpool and Bayern Munich all looking for a new coach.

The steadily increasing number of suitors forming a queue outside the door of Ruben Amorim, the 39-year-old Sporting Lisbon manager, would suggest the chances of him remaining there for a fifth season are unlikely.

Amorim still has work to do in Lisbon, though. With four games left to play, Sporting are seven points clear and within touching distance of his second Portuguese league title since he ed the club in March 2020.

It has been more than four decades since Sporting - with half the budget of Benfica or Porto - have won two league titles in four years.

Then there is the Portuguese Cup final against Porto on 26 May, where victory would earn Sporting their first league and cup double since 2001-02.

Up to now Amorim has said nothing to suggest he will be in situ at Anfield next season and, when the rumour mill hit feverish proportions, he angrily denied his arrival in Liverpool was a done deal.

Liverpool now appear keen on Feyenoord's Arne Slot, but Amorim will not be short of elite suitors.

The latest club to show an interest is West Ham United, with him flying by private jet with his agent Raul Costa for talks with David Sullivan in the chairman’s house.

It is not a surprise Amorim is a big fan of the Premier League given the pace of the game and the managers involved - in particular the work being done by Pep Guardiola and Roberto de Zerbi.

He follows Manchester City and Brighton closely and makes sure he watches a couple of Premier League games every week. His English is excellent and his recent reading material includes books about Guardiola, Mauricio Pochettino and Jose Mourinho.

Born in Lisbon, he was a creative midfielder who spent most of his playing career with Belenenses and Benfica, learning much from his former coach at both clubs, Jorge Jesus.

What he learnt above everything else was the importance of the collective and the importance of details; working hard in training, having conviction in your ideas, leading with authority.

Amorim watched closely the benefits of Jesus' defensive process, even though he felt if he ever became a coach that his teams would be mostly ed for their attack.

His own family education - especially from his mum, an ant who did not stop working even when he was succeeding at Benfica - taught him how crucial it was to be a key part of the overall team, rather than being a star individual.

Many close to him were surprised that someone who seemed so content with life would take the coaching badges in order to stay in football. His coaching career began with Casa Pia, then a third-tier club, where it almost ended as soon as it had begun.

He lost his first two games and, with his pride hurt and doubts setting in, he announced if he lost the third game he would quit. In the next match he changed the system and played a back three for the first time.

The system worked and from then on he remained unbeaten at the club. He also felt he had found the formation that allowed him to produce the football he wanted - one invariably linked to the spectacle for the fans.

From there he moved on to Braga's B team in the second division. A great run saw him become first-team manager, where he enjoyed an unbeaten spell over three months.

He earned his first major managerial honour when Braga won the Taca de Liga, Portugal's League Cup.

Amorim is like a sponge. After training and meetings, he likes to spend a couple of hours in his home office watching games, reading about football and managers, organising zooms with people he can learn new things from.

When he needs to come out of the football bubble he goes to the cinema, to an exhibition, or just walks around town. There is an air of the eternal student about Amorim, and a touch of normality and a humble demeanour about him.

On WhatsApp his first message might not be, 'what was the score in a Premier League game">