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Richard Keys criticises Manchester United after hearing ‘classless’ Ruben Amorim detail

Manchester United are close to appointing Ruben Amorim.

INEOS reached advanced talks with the Portuguese tactician and Sporting CP very quickly – after deciding to sack Erik ten Hag on Monday as Manchester United sit 14th in the Premier League.

Position Team Played MP Won W Drawn D Lost L For GF Against GA Diff GD Points Pts
14 Man UtdManchester United9 3 2 4 8 11 -3 11

Sporting CP revealed in a statement on Tuesday that Manchester United are willing to pay the €10m (£8.3m) needed to release the 39-year-old from his contract, and an official announcement does not seem far away.

That all seems like a formal process from Manchester United – although Richard Keys has now called the Red Devils “classless” after hearing an interesting detail from the Ruben Amorim saga.

Richard Keys unhappy with Manchester United approaching Ruben Amorim during international break

The beIN SPORTS pundit has now criticised Manchester United for allegedly meeting the man from Lisbon during the recent international break – in which Ten Hag was still at the helm.

Keys wrote on X (previously known as Twitter): “What is it about classless Utd?They admit they met Amorim in the last int break. Did Sporting know? And they want him to break his notice period. Would they be happy if an employee of theirs did? Pay the compensation. Do it properly. And find £80m for Gyokeres. He’s sensational.”

The 67-year-old seems to have a bee in his bonnet.

It is standard practice in football to make approaches while a player or manager is still contracted elsewhere, something Keys ought to know having worked in the game for many years.

Furthermore, he orders Manchester United to “pay the compensation” – something Sporting CP had already announced the Red Devils intend on doing before Keys hopped onto X to complain.

Keys is spot on regarding Sporting CP No.9 Viktor Gyokeres, however

Clearly, we think Keys has overreacted a bit in terms of how Manchester United approached Amorim, although he is right to recommend Viktor Gyokeres – a target for Arsenal – to INEOS.

Photo by Pedro Loureiro/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images
Photo by Pedro Loureiro/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images

The Sweden international has been performing to a ridiculously high standard ever since moving to Sporting CP in a £20m deal from Coventry back in July 2023 – scoring 43 goals and providing 15 assists in just 50 appearances during his debut campaign last term.

Gyokeres has since continued that exquisite form with 16 goals in 15 outings so far this season under Amorim – who clearly knows how to utilise the Sporting CP No.9 well – so Manchester United could certainly do a lot worse than bring the Swede to Old Trafford too.