Pep Guardiola reveals Man City dressing room reaction to Man Utd appointing Ruben Amorim

Pep Guardiola reckons Ruben Amorim is ready for the challenge of and the step up to the .

United are closing in on the appointment of Amorim, after Sporting Lisbon confirmed their willingness to meet his £8.3million release clause. Amorim's move is set to be confirmed in the coming days, with United pushing for him to start as soon as possible on a three-year deal with a £6m-a-year salary.

boss Guardiola paid Amorim a glowing tribute, with the two set to face each other next week in Lisbon in the .

Amorim may already be in charge of United by then, with Guardiola in no doubt the 39-year-old - who he will face in the Manchester derby on December 15 - is ready for the move to England.

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Asked about Amorim's move to United, Guardiola said: “All I can talk about is the experience of playing twice against Ruben’s Sporting Lisbon team, one or two seasons ago, and the pressure was really, really good.

“I spoke with Matheus Nunes - he was his player - and he speaks highly about him. And this season he's unbeaten and winning all the games in the Portuguese League and the Champions League, with the same points as us.

“So he's a high manager. I have the feeling that United, from what I hear, if they're thinking about him, it’s because he’s a good manager. United don’t appoint managers who aren’t at that level, so after five, six or seven years, we cannot say he is not able to lead United.

“What’s going to happen, I don’t know, because what happened here in my experience here, doesn’t mean it works for the other ones. Everyone is everyone - the manager is the team, the club, the structure, the physios, the doctors, the players, it’s many things. What happened here doesn’t mean it’s going to happen in another place.”

Asked if it was too soon for Amorim to lead a club the size of United, Guardiola said: “Why so quick? Why is it a problem? I started at at 37-years-old, coming into the fourth division. So knowledge is knowledge.

“If you are able, it doesn’t matter. For that reason, Lamine Yamal could not play football at 17-years-old, right? So you have to wait until he’s 24. There are players who ate 56 or 57 who aren’t able to be managers. So what’s important is talent. If you're good, it doesn’t matter the age.”

Sporting confirmed United's approach for Amorim in a statement which read: "Manchester United expressed interest in hiring coach Ruben Amorim, with the board of directors of Sporting SAD referring to the terms and conditions set out in the employment contract in force between the company and the coach, specifically for the respective termination clause and for the amount of Euro 10,000,000. Manchester United FC expressed interest in paying Sporting SAD the value of the aforementioned clause."

United host tonight in the EFL Cup, in their first game since Erik ten Hag's sacking on Monday, with interim coach Ruud van Nistelrooy taking charge.

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