Ruben Amorim’s arrival has ‘increased chances’ of Man United transfer for £42m fan-favourite

Ruben Amorim’s arrival at Manchester United has ‘increased the chances’ of a potential transfer for a £42 million fan-favourite.

Manchester United have appointed Ruben Amorim as their new head coach following Erik ten Hag’s exit from Old Trafford.

Ten Hag, whose contract was extended by a year in the summer, endured a challenging start to the season that saw United fall to 14th place in the Premier League and 21st in the Europa League.

This led to his departure on Monday morning, with the club acting swiftly to bring in Amorim as his replacement, who will begin his duties at Carrington on 11 November.

According to GiveMeSport, the Portuguese boss’ imminent arrival has increased the chances of United bringing Alvaro Fernandez back to the club.

Fernandez departed the club for Benfica in the summer and several clubs are reportedly interested in him already after a strong start to life in Portugal.

The young Spaniard has made 13 appearances so far this term, and has played every minute of Benfica’s three Champions League fixtures.

He currently has a £42 million release clause, but United would be able to re-sign the defender for around £16 million due to a buyback clause inserted when he departed the club.

Ten Hag confirmed the club are monitoring his process last month, and the aforementioned report adds that the United hierarchy are expected to use Amorim’s knowledge of Fernandez to help assess whether to make a move.

Many United supporters are in favour of a potential return for the 21-year-old, who became somewhat of a fan-favourite at Old Trafford despite never making a competitive appearance for the first-team.

After tremendous back-to-back seasons with the Under-23s and on loan at Preston North End–winning U23s Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year in those campaigns–it was surprising to not see Fernandez got opportunities during the 2023/24 campaign.

Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia both suffered long-term injuries during the season–with both players still out of action–but United signed Sergio Reguilon on a six-month loan while loaning Fernandez out again.

Now, with Amorim set to introduce a 3-4-3 formation at Old Trafford, it seems like a return for Fernandez may be a good decision for the club, especially due to the price they can re-sign him at.

Make sure to follow UtdDistrict on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok to never miss out on any of our Manchester United content. Our podcast, What the Devil?, is released every Wednesday at 6 pm (BST) on the United View YouTube channel.