Man Utd 'decide' on managerial plan ahead of Chelsea clash as 'agreement reached'

Manchester United have already hatched a plan for their new manager ahead of facing Chelsea on Sunday. The Red Devils sacked Erik ten Hag earlier this week after they were left in the bottom half with a defeat to West Ham over the weekend.

Ten Hag picked up just 11 points from the first nine games of the season and that’s despite back-to-back summers of heavy spending. United are now under the charge of interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy, who was Ten Hag’s assistant, and it will remain that way for now.

The Dutchman will remain in charge until after the international break, according to The Mirror. United are said to have reached a financial agreement with Sporting CP to appoint Ruben Amorim, set to pay around £10million for his services. But the negotiations have ended with an agreement that Amorim will see out a 30-day notice period to allow Sporting to steady the ship and find a new boss of their own.

For United, that means van Nistelrooy will remain in charge in the meantime, and he will take his first league game against Chelsea this Sunday at Old Trafford. He took charge for the first time on Wednesday night as United thrashed Leicester City 5-2 in the Carabao Cup.

Van Nistelrooy told Sky Sports after the game: “We scored some great goals. The first one was an absolute beauty from Casemiro. I have to also say that we had some luck as well. Two posts and the ball comes to Casemiro's feet, then the deflected free-kick from Bruno [Fernandes], but it’s his first one for a long time.

“So five goals, but as I said before, the chances against West Ham and Fenerbahce, we created so many more and bigger chances, and we couldn't finish.“All of a sudden, we had some luck on our side and that made it a great night.”

United will now look to build on that win against Chelsea on Sunday, with the Blues currently six points better off. The Blues lost to Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night just days after beating the Magpies in the Premier League, but Enzo Maresca made changes aplenty for the tie, prioritising the Premier League.