What Ruben Amorim has been privately told by Man Utd hierarchy about their summer signings

Ruben Amorim is set to face a challenging task if he takes the reins at Manchester United, considering the predicament Erik ten Hag has left the Red Devils in. United are languishing in 14th place in the Premier League with a mere three victories from their opening nine matches - a far cry from the golden era under when they were regularly lifting trophies.

Following crushing 3-0 defeats to Liverpool and Spurs earlier this season, the final nail in the coffin for Ten Hag was a 2-1 loss to West Ham on Sunday. The Dutchman was shown the door less than 24 hours later, after months of rumours about his future.

It's becoming increasingly probable that Amorim will be announced as the new manager at Old Trafford in the next few days, with his present club Sporting CP confirming that the Red Devils have shown an interest while noting his £8.43m (€10m) buyout clause.

And sources have informed TEAMTalk that Amorim might be keen to bring in three new faces from his former club Sporting; centre-back Goncalo Inacio, right-winger Marcus Edwards and star forward Pedro Goncalves. However, it's been reported that co-owners INEOS have made it clear during discussions that they expect him to extract the best from the current high-priced squad including Ten Hag's underperforming summer recruits, reports .

Enhancing the skills of both new and existing players within the team is viewed as crucial, a sentiment that Amorim reportedly shares with the club. He is said to be confident in his ability to improve the team's performance without resorting to the transfer market.

United made significant investments during the summer transfer window, aiming to strengthen their squad and improve on their record-low eighth-place finish in the 2023/24 Premier League season. Their first acquisition was forward Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna for £36.5million in July, after being impressed by the 23-year-old's tally of 14 goals and nine assists in just 58 appearances for the Serie A team.

Zirkzee had an impressive debut for the club, scoring a last-minute winning goal in their 1-0 Premier League victory over Fulham. However, his form has significantly declined since then. To date, Zirkzee has made 13 appearances in all competitions for the Red Devils but hasn't scored since the league opener in August.

Shortly after Zirkzee's arrival, United also signed centre-half Leny Yoro from Lille for £52million. However, the 18-year-old's time at Old Trafford has been anything but smooth. Yoro, who was also on Real Madrid's shortlist, has yet to play a competitive match for the Red Devils due to an ankle injury requiring surgery during a pre-season game against Arsenal.

The highly-regarded young French player is anticipated to be match-ready by the end of the month, and United's top brass are eager to see him make an immediate impact upon his return. Ten Hag subsequently brought in Matthijs de Ligt (£42.7m) and Noussair Mazraoui (£17.2m) from Bayern Munich in a double swoop.

While both defenders have been effectively deployed since their arrival, United are grappling with significant defensive gaps that need addressing, as evidenced by their dearth of clean sheets this season.

United's last piece of business in the summer transfer window was the acquisition of centre-defensive midfielder Manuel Ugarte, who joined from PSG in August in a deal potentially worth up to £50.4m with add-ons. The 23-year-old has featured in the starting line-up for seven matches across all competitions so far for the Red Devils, but he may require further development to adjust to the rigours of the Premier League.

Club icon Ruud van Nistelrooy is currently stepping in as caretaker manager for United as they steel themselves for a series of challenging fixtures in the days ahead. They square off against in the EFL Cup tonight (Wednesday) at Old Trafford before hosting a high-flying Chelsea side in the North West on Sunday.

Whether Amorim will be at the helm by then remains uncertain, given Sporting CP have a match on Friday evening that could potentially be his swansong.