Sporting Lisbon have placed former Wolves manager Bruno Lage at the top of their wishlist in case Ruben Amorim leaves to take over at Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur.
Amorim, at least in public, appeared to distance himself from the Spurs job recently.
In private, however, it seems that he may be a little more interested than he is letting on. The man who guided Sporting Lisbon to their first Primeira Liga title since the days when a toothy Cristiano Ronaldo was wearing green and white has now been contacted by the North London outfit.
And, according to The Times, Amorim would be tempted by such an opportunity.
Sporting Lisbon, meanwhile, are leaving nothing to chance.
Portuguese publication SIC Noticias report that Lage – who once guided Lisbon neighbours Benfica to domestic glory at Sporting’s expense – has been lined up as a readymade replacement for 38-year-old Amorim.
Will Ruben Amorim leave Sporting Lisbon for Tottenham Hotspur?
Lage has been out of work since an underwhelming spell at Wolverhampton Wanderers ended in October. But, SIC Noticias add, he remain the ‘preferred’ option for a Sporting side who knocked out Arsenal en route to the Europa League quarter-finals.
Amorim, meanwhile, has a £17 million release clause in his contract. If Spurs were to trigger it, the former Portugal international would become the third-most expensive managerial appointment of all time. Behind only Graham Potter and another name on Tottenham’s radar, Julian Nagelsmann.
The costs involved in hiring Amorim may be a potential sticking point. Especially considering that so many of Daniel Levy’s other targets – Nagelsmann, Luis Enrique and Brendan Rodgers, to name but three – are currently without a job, and would therefore not be anywhere near as expensive to recruit.
“I am not surprised,” Sporting defender Jerry St Juste admitted when quizzed about the interest in his much-coveted head coach. “I don’t know a coach who is as crazy about football as he is.
“He is clear in his communication. I personally like that very much. He sees us as his boys and is constantly working on our development. I expect we will hear a lot more from him in the coming years.”
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