Liverpool have been constantly linked with Sporting Lisbon manager Ruben Amorim as they look to land the right replacement for the outgoing Jurgen Klopp ahead of next season, but the Portuguese has denied the rumours, insisting he has not agreed to join the Reds despite reports claiming he had reached a verbal agreement in principle with them.
Micah Richards has weighed in with his opinion on the matter, and while the former Manchester City defender believes the 39-year-old could be perfect for Liverpool, he has doubts about whether he can hit the ground running in the Premier League.
“I think the way he plays, tactically, he would be good,” Richards told Gary Lineker on the latest episode of the Rest is Football podcast.
“But I did see a quote from him, basically saying the rumours about him going to Liverpool are not true and he wants everyone to stop talking about it.
“In terms of ‘Could he be good for Liverpool?’ Definitely. He is really intelligent, he plays attacking football. He’s evolved as a manager as well because he was at Braga as well.
“He did okay there. The thing is, though, can he do it in the Premier League so soon? That’s the one question mark you would have. I’ve heard Liverpool fans saying they would like him, they like his style of football. But you just never know.”
Amorim has impressed in the Portuguese top-flight and is on course to win the title with Sporting as they are seven points clear at the top of the table with five games remaining.
He won his first league title as a manager with them in 2020-21 and has also won two Portuguese League Cups and a Portuguese Super Cup since joining them from Braga in 2020.
His other silverware as a manager came at Braga where he won the Portuguese League Cup in 2019-20, but challenging for trophies in the Premier League is a different ball game and succeeding a manager like Klopp will not be an easy task.
It remains to be seen whether Liverpool will go for Amorim in the end as they cannot afford to get this appointment wrong, and it will be interesting to see who ends up succeeding their German manager.
