Ruben Amorim makes special request to Man Utd board in bid to avoid second nightmare season

Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has requested his former trusted ally Acacio Valentim be added to his staff as part of another coaching restructure. The Portuguese head coach is determined to avoid another woeful campaign after a tricky first season at the helm.

After replacing Erik ten Hag following a move from Sporting Lisbon, he led United to 14th in the Premier League, while they were defeated in the Europa League final by Spurs. And ahead of his second season with the club, Amorim has asked for some help behind the scenes.

According to Portuguese outlet Record, Amorim has made a personal request to United chiefs to make a move for Acacio Valentim. The 49-year-old previously worked alongside his countryman as a coach at former club Braga, with Amorim keen to be reunited at Old Trafford.

Talks are reportedly underway over a move to the UK, with Valentim a free agent having exited the Portuguese club this summer. His move would become the latest reshuffle behind the scenes since Amorim’s arrival.

Erik ten Hag’s former staff members including Ruud van Nistelrooy all left - the Dutchman has now been sacked by Leicester. Rene Hake, Jelle ten Rouwelaar and Pieter Morel all also left following Amorim’s arrival.

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Set piece coach Andreas Georgson was initially retained but appeared to take on a new role in December after Amorim confirmed that his assistant Carlos Fernandes was instead at the forefront of set piece planning.

Explaining the change after a clash with Arsenal, he said: "The thinking is Carlos is responsible for set pieces, different stuff. Andreas is also there to help. That’s it. That’s the reason.

"I think if you follow Premier League for a long time you can see that they (Arsenal) are also big players for that. And you can see it in every occasion that (Bukayo) Saka and (Gabriel) Martinelli has one against one, a lot of times they go outside and cross. They already know if the cross is going well, they can score. If it’s a corner, they can score.

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"So we have to be better on that situation but like in every area of our game we need time to improve also. But you can see in all Arsenal games every team has a problem with that."

Georgson eventually left his role in May of this year, while a number of prominent backroom figures have also departed Old Trafford over recent weeks.

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