Amorim apologizes for poorly-timed West Ham talks: What now?

The meeting between Ruben Amorim and West Ham concerning his potential summer appointment as manager was a misstep, the coach has admitted.

This time last month, the manager from Sporting was considered the favorite to take over at Liverpool. He won the Portuguese championship in 2020-21 and will most likely repeat the feat this year.

Although Amorim had hoped that the Reds would make an offer for him, his efforts had the opposite effect. Evidently, they lost interest, and Arne Slot is just a confirmation away from leading Liverpool next season.

Still, the Anfield outfit aren’t the only Premier League club that have supposedly been connected to the 39-year-old boss. Finally compelled to do so, Amorim recently made the journey to London to negotiate with West Ham.

London trip to decide Amorim’s fate?

When the current season ends, the Hammers want to make a change by hiring a new management. Their league campaign has been less than stellar, and David Moyes will most certainly get the boot at this term’s conclusion.

If they are successful in their pursuit of Amorim, they will have made a great signing. It’s no secret that the Portuguese is generally considered to be one of the best young managers in European soccer.

There seems to be a growing number of people interested in marrying Ruben Amorim, which makes it seem like he won’t be hanging around for another season. At the same time, he is not quite through with his tasks in Lisbon.

He is only four games away from a second Portuguese league championship with Sporting. The Lisbon native has been a part of the club since March 2020, and they now have a seven-point lead.

During this journey, Sporting were at a pivotal point in their pursuit of the Portuguese title. As a result, Amorim has been in hot water because of his meeting with the Premier League side.

What did Amorim say?

Thus, the Portuguese manager freely admitted that he should have thought twice about when he took this trip. He then apologized to the club and Sporting supporters for his inappropriate behavior. The ex-Benfica man regrets going to London to negotiate while he is still on the payroll in the Primeira Liga.

“So, let’s get the elephant out of the room and I’ll talk about it once. The first thing is to say that the club was aware of my trip. It’s important and changes the context”, he told reporters.

“Then, talk about the cloak of secrecy that surrounded the trip. I secretly parked the car outside, secretly walked past 15 people, past people and took photographs and got on a plane to take away a little bit of this thing that was all done behind the club’s back, that didn’t happen.

“Obviously my trip was a mistake, the timing was completely wrong, it didn’t seem right at the time. It was wrong, especially when I’m so demanding with my players and always the first to say that each one’s problems don’t go away. They can overpower the team, I have already removed players from the squad for much less. It was my mistake, I have to accept it and live with it.”

Photo credit: IMAGO / Maciej Rogowski