Ruben Amorim refuses to explain cryptic Man Utd transfer comment: 'I don't want to talk about that'

 Ruben Amorim has refused to clarify a comment he made around his transfer budget at Manchester United, with his cryptic response to questions over the club’s January business hinting at possible friction behind the scenes as his long-term future remains in doubt.

Given how open and honest the Red Devils boss normally is at his press conferences, it came as a surprise when he had no real response to being asked to explain something he said on Christmas Eve about his preferred style of play.

“I have the feeling if we have to play a perfect 3-4-3, we need to spend a lot of money and we need time,” he said. “I’m starting to understand that is not going to happen. So, maybe I have to adapt.”

The adaptation came in the form of Amorim switching from his normally religious 3-4-3 to a back four in the 1-0 Boxing Day win over Newcastle, only to then revert back to his old system in the dismal home 0-0 draw with bottom club Wolves just four days later – a result which heightened talk of Amorim facing the sack.

Going back to December 23, the day before Amorim‘s comments on potential transfer business, it was revealed that Man Utd bosses had privately decided to end their £65million pursuit of Manchester City-bound Antoine Semenyo, as they felt the move was ultimately destined to fail. However, they also stressed that their intention had never been to use the 25-year-old Bournemouth stars as a wing-back, as per BBC Sport reporter Simon Stone.

And, speaking ahead of Sunday’s trip to Leeds United in the Premier League, Amorim was asked to explain why he did not know the position around recruitment when he joined United from Portuguese giants Sporting in November 2024.

“I don’t want to talk about that,” he said. “I just focus on the Leeds game.”

Amorim then revealed that he did not regret his comments prior to the Newcastle match before being asked again, by the same journalist, if something had changed in relation to United’s transfer budget. Once more, he replied: “I don’t want to talk about that.”

The United media official who was sitting next to Amorim then began to query who would be asking the next question, only for Amorim to interject and add: “But you are very smart, so…”

Amorim friction clear to see

There has been no clarification as to what Amorim actually meant by that response, although it’s pretty clear that it was relating to the club’s transfer business and that the journalist asking the question could draw an obvious conclusion for himself.

In terms of what sort of business United could do this month, the club have already made it clear that they will only add players who will be around for years to come, with no short-term fixes.

Indeed, that was very much the case when it came to the signing of goalkeeper Senne Lammens in the summer, when it’s rumoured that Amorim wanted experienced Aston Villa and Argentina stopper Emiliano Martnez.

Amorim even admitted after the Newcastle win that he has sometimes clashed with the club over transfer targets, before stating how important it is that the ‘coach’s voice was listened to’, largely because he understands the ‘qualities needed to play in his team’.

Despite their clear struggles this season and continued speculation over Amorim’s future, United still sit sixth in the table and have the opportunity to move into the top four, if they win at Elland Road in the early kick-off.

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More Man Utd news: Liverpool transfer battles; Ugarte exit snub

Both Man Utd and Liverpool have made offers for Sheffield Wednesday left-back Yisa Alao, according to a report, but that is not the only player that Arne Slot and Ruben Amorim are competing with each other for.

Elsewhere, United have rebuffed advances from intermediaries working to take Manuel Ugarte to Turkish giants Galatasaray, TEAMtalk can reveal, while Ruben Amorim’s stance on letting two other sparingly-used stars depart this month has also come to light.

Finally, Fabrizio Romano has revealed what Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has privately told his bosses about letting Kobbie Mainoo and Joshua Zirkzee leave in January.