Man Utd ‘divide’ between Amorim, Old Trafford chief made shock January transfer collapse

Ruben Amorim and Manchester United chief executive Omar Berrada were “divided” on a potential January signing that collapsed, a club president has claimed.

There has been a major overhaul at Man Utd since Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s takeover of the Premier League giants at the start of 2024.

The INEOS chief has overhauled United’s recruitment model as chief executive Berrads, technical director Jason Wilcox and sporting director Dan Ashworth were drafted in.

Ashworth’s stint at Man Utd proved short-lived. Since his exit, Christopher Vivell has become their permanent director of recruitment on a multi-year deal.

There has also been a change in the dugout as Amorim has replaced former head coach Erik ten Hag and has endured a nightmare start at Man Utd, who sit 14th in our Premier League form table.

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Man Utd worked with a limited budget in January as they are already second in our five-year net spend table and needed to offload unwanted talents to raise funds for additions.

Marcus Rashford and Antony were the only players offloaded by Man Utd as they joined Aston Villa and Real Betis on loan.

This meant Patrick Dorgu was the only player brought in for a fee, with Man Utd investing an initial £25m to sign the former Lecce left wing-back.

The Red Devils were also linked with several other potential targets and it’s claimed that they considered a raid on Argentinian side Velez Sarsfield for young centre-back Valentin Gomez.

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The 21-year-old is a left-sided centre-back and was capped eight times for Argentina at the U20 level.

It is claimed that he was targeted as a replacement for Lisandro Martinez, who is currently out of action with a knee injury.

Martinez picked up his injury after the January transfer window closed and Velez Sarsfield president Berlanga claims Gomez’s contract would have been “terminated” to join Man Utd on a free transfer if they stepped up their interest.

However, Berlanga also claims Amorim and United CEO Berrada clashed on the transfer, but he does not say who exactly “said no” to the deal.

“It wasn’t a transfer; it was a termination. Once the player signs the payment commitment, he is free to do what he wants,” Berlanga said.

“Through someone I know, I asked Manchester United to find out if they wanted him because of Licha Martínez’s injury. It was divided between the CEO and the coach, and they said no.”