Aston Villa want Ruben Amorim and their hopes have been boosted amid claims that his release clause has been reduced to £10million.
Villa made the big decision to sack Steven Gerrard on Thursday night.
The 3-0 defeat at Fulham proved to be the final straw and Villa quickly axed Gerrard after the final whistle.
Caretaker Aaron Danks oversaw an impressive 4-0 thrashing of Brentford on Sunday but is unlikely to land the job.
Villa have bigger plans in mind and one of their top targets may be more attainable than first thought.
Aston Villa want Ruben Amorim
One of the first names linked after Gerrard’s exit was Sporting Clube de Portugal boss Ruben Amorim.
The Athletic reported that talks had been held with the Portuguese coach over a potential move to Villa Park.
The big sticking point was Amorim’s release clause, with The Sunday Mirror claiming just yesterday that Villa were trying to haggle on his £26million release clause.
There now appears to have been a boost though as The Telegraph claim that Amorim’s release clause has dropped to just £10million.
It’s suggested that Amorim’s release clause has reduced on a sliding scale since his 2020 move from Braga.
That means Villa have real hope of a deal and it’s claimed that talks with Amorim’s representatives are now progressing.
It’s still no sure thing that Amorim will trade Sporting for Villa.
Amorim’s side are in the Champions League for a kick off and they still have a real chance of qualification to the knockout stages.
The 37-year-old has been a managerial sensation with Sporting, winning the title in his first full season in charge during the 2020-21 campaign.
There have been links to English clubs of late; Wolverhampton Wanderers were allegedly keen, but Portuguese journalist Pedro Sepulveda suggested to Sky Sports that Amorim didn’t want to leave Sporting.
It’s now Villa who are pushing for Amorim but they will still have to convince him into leaving Lisbon.
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