Ruben Amorim is so “charismatic” that Tim Sherwood is “worried” he “baffled” the Manchester United bosses “into giving him the job” at Old Trafford.

Amorim replaced Erik ten Hag at the United helm in November and results were expected to improve, but the Portuguese boss has delivered just ten wins in 25 games to leave them in 14th in the Premier League table as his players struggles to adapt to the 3-4-3 system and a philosophy that he’s unwilling to break from.

The poor form has led to suggestions that Amorim’s job is under threat at Old Trafford, and Sherwood isn’t convinced he should have been given the opportunity in the first place, suggesting the 40-year-old’s “charisma” pulled the wool over the eyes of the Red Devils chiefs.

“Is he one of the best in front of the camera you have ever seen? Under the pressure of managing Manchester United and having such a bad time, I think he’s incredible,’ Sherwood said on Premier League Productions.

“The worry is that he’s such a good talker. I worry that when they interviewed the guy, if he’s such a good talker, he baffled them into giving him the job.

“I know what he did at Sporting was good, but it’s a different level to the Premier League. Sometimes you’re so good in the interview process the job is just given to you because you talk so well. He has charisma. I still think he has charisma.”

A report earlier this week claimed the former Sporting CP boss ‘has told friends he thinks he made a mistake taking the job at Old Trafford’.

The report adds: ‘The Portuguese boss, 40, feels he should have waited until this summer at least – and should not have succumbed to the ‘now-or-never’ ultimatum issued to him by United chiefs.’

Sources also told Football Insider that Amorim was ‘personally shocked by how bad the players are’ and ‘thought they were much better’ before taking on the job at Man Utd.

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Former Man Utd chief scout Mick Brown – who is still well-connected at Old Trafford – thinks Amorim is “destroying the morale in the dressing room”.

Brown told Football Insider: “He comes out with some statements that would be better left unsaid. It’s his way of going about things, but I think it shows his lack of experience in England and in the Premier League.

“Making those types of statements usually comes back to bite you. He might think it’s ‘the worst team in Man United history’ but he can’t say that. It’s destroying the morale in the dressing room.

“For the players to hear that – it’s not going to do them any good. He’s made some ridiculous statements, in my judgement, which really don’t do him any favours.

“Now, he comes out saying if he knew what the problems were, he’d fix them. It’s his job to know what the problems are. He’s managed about 20 games since he came in – that should be more than enough time to establish what issues you’ve got.

“There are serious questions being asked which, as of yet, he’s failed to answer. I’ve got nothing against Amorim, I’m sure he’s a good person and a good coach, but he’s now learning a lot about Manchester United.”

Mikel Arteta has dismissed suggestions Chido Obi-Martin left Arsenal for Manchester United over a concern about first-team opportunities at the Emirates amid reports he in fact left for he money.

The striker has played in three of United’s last five games under Ruben Amorim having swapped Arsenal for the Red Devils in the summer.

Obi-Martin was one of the hottest young talents in the Arsenal academy, notably playing his first game for the U21s when he was just 15 and renowned as a prolific goalscorer throughout his time there.

But the club chiefs were unable to persuade Obi to sign professional terms with the club and Arteta admits his exit was “very unfortunate”.

“Depending on what is the reason, they want to go somewhere else — that is it,” Arteta said. “To persuade a player to stay, a player has to be willing to be with us and commit to us — and I don’t know specifically, [but] both parties will feel very different about it.

“I wasn’t too involved in that decision. When a player decides the best pathway is to leave, there’s not much you can do. Very unfortunate.”

According to the Times, Arsenal offered Obi a similar route to the first-team as Ethan Nwaneri, who has enjoyed a breakout season, but believe the player’s head was turned after United ‘offered him a lot more money’.

The report does though note that claim is disputed by the player’s camp, who insist the clearer pathway to first-team football was the sole reason behind his move.

18-year-old defender Ayden Heaven left Arsenal for United at the same time, but with both Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly now playing significant roles in the first team, Arteta dismissed suggestions that young players at the club are concerned they won’t be given opportunities.

“I don’t know whether the perception is out [there],” Arteta added. “Internally it is not [that young players don’t get chances]. The reality is very different, because those players are always with us. I guarantee you that if there is a player there that can help and impact the first team, he’s going to be with us.”

Obi-Martin’s exit has been more keenly felt thanks to Arsenal’s injury crisis, which has left Arteta with just Leandro Trossard, Raheem Sterling and Ethan Nwaneri as available forwards, while Mikel Merino has been used up front.

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Riccardo Calafiori has also emerged as a potential option for Arteta, who admits he’s been surprised by the Italian’s attacking prowess.

When asked whether he was aware of Calafiori’s attacking intuition before signing him, Arteta replied: “No, he certainly has that capacity to flow in areas that for a defender is very unusual.

“So that was something that really caught my eye. The other one that is very unpredictable, sometimes chaotic and that can be very difficult as well from the opposition.

“And that eye on goal, especially in open play, to be fair, I didn’t have that understanding of the things that he could do.

“But you see day to day in training that he’s very capable of creating things that they are not there in that moment.”

Calafiori has said in the past that he’s open to playing up front if that’s what his manager wants.

Calafiori said, as per TMW: “As I have always said and I repeat, I feel I can play in any role and obviously I would be ready to play it (as a striker).

“Then, honestly, we should talk more about the technical and tactical aspects, it wouldn’t be easy because I’ve never done it in my life.

“Obviously, if you ask me I’ll do it, but I don’t know if it could really be an alternative.

“It’s one thing to already be there, as I always tell my teammates, and it’s another thing to get there on the run, which is a totally different thing. And I’m really good at that.”

Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Manchester United chiefs now reportedly accept that their Project 150 dream is doomed to fail with Ruben Amorim’s “hands tied behind his back” at Old Trafford.

Amorim replaced Erik ten Hag at the United helm in November and results were expected to improve, but the Portuguese boss has delivered just ten wins in 25 games as his players struggles to adapt to the 3-4-3 system and a philosophy that he’s unwilling to break from.

Mirror report that ‘there is now an acceptance inside the United boardroom’ that chief executive Omar Berrada’s target of taking the title back to Old Trafford by 2028 to celebrate United’s 150th anniversary was optimistic in the extreme, and ‘the stark reality of the monumental task facing Amorim has since kicked in’.

With Ineos implementing a top-to-bottom overhaul of the club ‘there’s an awareness that the former Sporting Lisbon coach must be given time if he can’t be bankrolled in the transfer market’.

One source said: “Amorim felt he could get more from the current squad when he came in and there have been some encouraging results.

“But there’s no getting away from the fact that overall it’s been a really tough watch – and that it’s going to take a lot of time and patience to get the team to where they should be.

“You’ve got to be brave or foolish to think winning the league by 2028 is doable from where United currently are.”

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The report states that ‘Berrada’s reputation is wedded to Amorim succeeding’ and that the United chief’s ‘bold statement of intent was met with incredulity by some staff members when the Frenchman proposed his timeline to the top’.

The report adds:

‘Within weeks the club had sacked Ten Hag, just a couple of months after handing him a contract extension and a £200million transfer kitty.

‘It was Berrada, the executive recruited from rivals Manchester City, who was the driving force behind the appointment of Amorim – despite warnings from sporting director Dan Ashworth that the squad would have to be revamped to fit the Portuguese’s playing philosophy.

‘Ashworth followed Ten Hag out of the club less than five months after United paid £5million in compensation to prise him away from Newcastle.

‘INEOS are fully aware that if they make another knee-jerk managerial change they risk losing the dwindling goodwill of disillusioned fans. It cost them £10.4 million million to sack Ten Hag and another £11 million in compensation to appoint Amorim.’