The two biggest stories in the Premier League this week have been surrounding Aston Villa and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Villa have sacked Steven Gerrard and are on the hunt for his replacement, while Ronaldo refused to come off as a substitute against Tottenham earlier this week and has since been frozen out of the squad.
Ronaldo looks as though he’ll be on his way out of Old Trafford in January, but, as things stand, there aren’t many feasible options out there for him.
Most elite clubs wouldn’t touch him with a barge pole at this point, while Ronaldo wants Champions League football so that rules out 90 per cent of clubs in Europe.
However, that could be about to change.
Indeed, the door to return to Sporting could be about to open for Ronaldo as Aston Villa attempt to bring Ruben Amorim to Villa Park.
Sporting were, of course, linked with a move for Ronaldo in the summer, but a move was blocked by Amorim who threatened to quit the Lisbon outfit if the owner went against his wishes and signed Ronaldo.
However, if Amorim joins Villa, that huge Amorim-shaped stumbling block will be out of the way and Ronaldo will potentially be free to join his boyhood club once again.
Of course, concluding a transfer for a footballer who is reportedly on £500,000-a-week is a lot easier said than done, but with Ronaldo running out of options and the sentiment of Sporting potentially pulling him back to Portugal, this move could be on the cards if Amorim decides to head to the Premier League with Villa.
A lot of dominoes still need to fall before we start thinking about Ronaldo actually heading back to the Portuguese capital, but the door is now ever so ajar with Villa in talks with Amorim.
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