Why Liverpool snubbed Ruben Amorim as Man Utd bosses make unusual decision

snubbed as they searched for 's successor last year. And the Reds reportedly opted to look elsewhere after being left unconvinced by the Portuguese's tactics. They eventually appointed Arne Slot, who won the Premier League title in his first season in England.

Amorim was a man in demand during his time as Sporting boss, with the 40-year-old also linked with West Ham and Manchester City before . He was ultimately prised away from his homeland in November, despite the fact that he was reluctant to join the Red Devils mid-season. But he has struggled in the north west, with United set to record their worst-ever Premier League finish following their on Wednesday evening.

According to the , one of the reasons Liverpool swerved Amorim was because of his devotion to playing with a back three, attacking wing-backs and two No 10s.

The rigid 3-4-3 set-up is a far cry from the system Liverpool had under Klopp. And Reds chiefs went in a different direction as Amorim stayed at the Jose Alvalade Stadium for another four-and-a-half months.

The ex-Sporting manager has been unwavering with his philosophy since touching down in England, with Patrick Dorgu arriving during the January transfer window to bolster United's options. But Amorim has been unable to get a tune out of his players in many games.

Incredibly, United technical director Jason Wilcox and academy head Nick Cox decided that the club's age-group teams wouldn't implement the same formation as the first-team.

Amorim was also part of the decision-making unit that ultimately came to the conclusion that the 3-4-3 formation wouldn't be the standard set-up for teams in the academy.

The decision is somewhat unusual as many top teams have a model where age-group sides copy first-team tactics to get to grips with an overarching system favoured by club management.

In February, the aforementioned claimed that some United players had even been wondering whether the side would be better off changing their tactical approach.

But Amorim had already made his stance on tactics clear at the end of last year when he explained: "When you have a change of coach, especially in this type of club, it is because they were not winning.

"They played in the system they were bought for and were chosen perfectly for that system. After two years, working in pre-season, they were losing. So am I going to change to that system to something that I don't believe in? That doesn't make sense."