‘Ruben can change the energy’

Amorim was at Carrington for the first time on Monday, the day after signing off in Portugal by guiding the Lisbon club to a 4-2 victory over Braga – their 11th successive win to kick off the 2024/25 top-flight season.

The Lions are in pole position to claim back-to-back Primeira Liga titles for the first time since the 1950s, with Fernandes – still a keen observer of football in his homeland – citing how his compatriot had transformed the club after arriving in March 2020.

It’s a coaching spell that has impressed several big clubs around Europe and left our no.8 hopeful about the future at Old Trafford.

“I hope he does the same here because you know sometimes a person can change the energy of a space, if it's the right moment,” Fernandes said.

“We hope that he can come, and this is the right moment for him to come and bring his energy, bring his qualities and his knowledge of football, because he's done something really, really special at Sporting.

“If someone doubts that, it's about just looking at the past.

“Sporting was to be about 20 years without winning the league, and he got back to win the league, and he won it two times in four years with a really youthful team, in a moment of change.

“So hopefully he can do the same here for us and [hopefully] it's going to be a successful time for all of us.”

Amorim’s appointment has been the major talking point in football since it was announced, on Friday 1 November, and the excitement was ramped up last week for those who watched Sporting’s deserved win over Manchester City in the Champions League.

There has been lots of talk about Amorim’s preferred system of a three-man defence, with wing-backs, and how it could play out at United.

Fernandes admits that Ruben’s approach may have to be slightly different over in England, but that the overarching ideas are what he feels make him such an intelligent coach.

“He's a really smart manager that has done really good things for Sporting tactically – it’s really good, what I've seen from the games for Sporting,” he added.

“But obviously as we always speak, you can't bring or transform what he has done at Sporting into here, because you have different players, you have different ways of play and everything.

“I'm pretty sure that the idea of football he has, independent of the way he wants to play, is going to be a good one and it's going to bring us success.

“That's what I hope and I'm pretty sure that [is what] he hopes too.”