Manchester United's Ruben Amorim: The young coach now in charge of one of the world's biggest clubs

Ruben Amorim has been appointed as the new manager of Manchester United after signing a three year contract to take charge at Old Trafford.

The 39-year-old former Portugal international was the number one target to replace Erik Ten Hag who was sacked with the club making their worst ever start to a Premier League season.

Amorim now becomes the sixth permanent manager to try and bring back the glory days to Old Trafford since United's legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.

Who is Ruben Amorim?

Ruben Amorim is one of the most highly talked about young coaches in European football following a four-year spell at Sporting CP where he won two league titles and three domestic cups in Portugal.

In 2021, at the age of 36, he won his first league championship with the Portuguese club - their first in 19 years.

He began coaching in 2018 after a knee injury ended his 14-year playing career with Belenenses, Benfica, Braga and the Portugal national team.

His rapid rise through the coaching pyramid has taken him from third-tier Portuguese team Casa Pia, to Braga, Sporting and now Manchester United.

A move to the Premier League has seemingly been a matter of when, not if, after previous links with both managerial jobs at Liverpool and West Ham.

With Sporting's Director of Football Hugo Viana moving to Manchester City in the New Year to replace the outgoing Txiki Begiristain, Amorim had also been tipped as a potential successor to Pep Guardiola.

What challenges await?

Following on from David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Erik Ten Hag, Amorim now inherits the challenge of returning Manchester United to the very top of English, European and World football.

With Sir Jim Ratcliffe's Ineos group now running football operations at the club, they've identified him as the man to lead their challenge against the likes of rivals Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal.

Van Gaal, Mourinho and Ten Hag did all win trophies during their time at United, but the club has been way off from for the biggest prizes in both the Premier League and Champions League.

Amorim will need to close that gap, with the United's Chief Executive Omar Berrada reportedly telling staff that the aim is to win the Premier League in 2028 to mark the club's 150th anniversary.

Along with results, the former midfielder will also need to bring an identity to United's playing style which under Ten Hag was lacking. The most significant change could see the team adopt his favoured 3-4-3 formation.

Manchester United manager remains one of the biggest jobs in world football, but as Amorim is about to discover it comes with global exposure, heightened scrutiny, huge pressure and great expectations.

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To know...