Sporting Lisbon coach Ruben Amorim insists he is ‘very happy’ at the Portuguese giants amid speculation that he could replace Bruno Lage at Premier League strugglers Wolverhampton Wanderers, speaking to A Bola.
Sporting, Primeira Liga winners in 2021, will take on Marseille today in the Champions League group-stages. They are also just three points off the top of the table back home, within touching distance of Lisbon neighbours Benfica.
So would Amorim really walk away from all this to take over a Wolves side stuck in the relegation zone following Saturday’s insipid 2-0 defeat to West Ham United at the London Stadium?
The former Portugal international is a candidate to take Lage’s place in the Molineux dugout (The Sun). Wolves would have to pay a £20 million fee, however, to free Amorim from his Estadio Jose Alvalade contract.
Who will replace sacked Bruno Lage at Wolves?
“It’s the same answer I’ve given in other situations,” the 37-year-old says when quizzed on the speculation. “I’m at Sporting. I’m very happy here.
“I like being here. So I think there’s nothing more to say.”
Of course, this could just be a manager attempting to keep the rumours at arms’ length while he weighs up his options. But Amorim, who was linked with Paris Saint-Germain in the summer, is certainly far from the most attainable of Wolves’ managerial targets.
Especially when you consider that the likes of Pedro Martins are available right here, right now. The former Olympiakos boss is reportedly keen on the Wolves job. Martins was sacked at the start of the season. That is despite claiming three successive Greek Super League titles in Piraeus.
Martins also worked alongside Jose Sa and Daniel Podence at the Karaiskakis Stadium.
Javi Gracia, Vitor Perreira, Carlos Carvalhal and Julen Lopetegui are also in the running. Interestingly, Carvalhal was sacked by Al Wahda on Monday, while Lopetegui is hanging onto his Sevilla job by the skin of his teeth.
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