Aston Villa next manager: Ruben Amorim’s representatives in talks with the Premier League club – reports

The representatives of Sporting Lisbon boss Ruben Amorim are in talks with Aston Villa about him becoming their new manager, according to reports.

The BBC and The Telegraph report the Sporting boss has emerged as one of the leading candidates on their shortlist, although there are said to be other contenders.

The Telegraph say Villa’s hopes of hiring the highly-rated manager has been bolstered by the fact that they would pay a €10m compensation clause to hire the Portuguese rather than the widely reported figure of €30m.

The newspaper report the figure has reduced since Amorim signed his original contract with Sporting Lisbon from Braga in 2020.

He signed an initial three-year deal which was then extended by a further 12 months, but a reduced compensation fee was negotiated when his contract began to run out.

Amorim, who can speak English, is regarded as one of the best young coaches in Europe.

The 37-year-old led Sporting to their first Primeira Liga title for 19 years in the 2020-21 campaign and currently has the club sitting in third in Champions League Group D after four matches played. Sporting travel to London to take on Tottenham Hotspur in their fifth group game on Wednesday.

Villa currently sit 14th in the Premier League table and three points off the relegation zone after 12 matches played.

The Midlands club were reportedly interested in hiring former Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino, but it is believed he will wait for a better opportunity.

Former Chelsea and PSG boss Thomas Tuchel is also said to have ruled himself out of contention for the job, while Unai Emery and Thomas Frank are said to be happy in their roles at Villarreal and Brentford respectively.