Ruben Amorim risks repeating Erik ten Hag mistake as boss ‘eyes three Liverpool transfers’ | Football | Sport

There was also the failed pursuit of the Barcelona midfielder Frenkie De Jong, who Ten Hag had prioritised as his No. 1 target. United ploughed vast effort and resources into attempting to persuade the former Ajax star to join, only to fail in their mission.

Amorim will therefore be well advised to realise that signing players he personally knows is not necessarily a recipe for success. The coach – who only turned 39 in January – might have had success with those players at Sporting, but that might not translate into a positive transition at Anfield.

Liverpool will likely have their own targets to pitch to Amorim. Given that they have previously been linked with defender Inacio, the incoming man might get at least one of his targets as a compromise. But Amorim will not want to find his first transfer window judged to the same negative effect as Ten Hag’s.