Where are they now? Ruben Amorim's 10 most expensive signings at Sporting Lisbon

Ruben Amorim is almost certain to become the new head coach of Manchester United, inheriting a squad that cost a fortune to put together.

Giving too much power to individual managers in the transfer market is part of the reason United got into such a mess and was one of the reasons why Erik ten Hag was ultimately sacked.

As INEOS look to reduce that with their new football hierarchy and the appointment of Amorim as head coach, there is no doubt he will have a say in how the money is spent. Here are the 10 most expensive signings he made while in charge of Sporting.

10. Jerry St. Juste (€9.5 million)

Sporting signed the Mainz defender for a modest fee in the summer of 2022 and he has since made 55 appearances for the club as a regular in Amorim’s back three.

The Dutchman won the first league title of his career when they won the Primeira Liga last season and has recently returned to action after missing the start of this season with a muscle injury.

9. Ruben Vinagre (€10 million)

After spending the 2021-2022 season on loan at Sporting, the club made the deal permanent for the 2022-2023 season, with Vinagre slotting in quite seamlessly as a full-back in his native Portugal.

Now 25, he is still on Sporting’s books but is in his fourth loan spell at the club in just two years. He spent a season with Hull and a season with Everton, but is now in Poland with Legia Warsaw after a short spell in Italy.

8. Ivan Fresneda (€9 million)

Sporting, a highly rated Spanish youngster linked with the likes of Barcelona, Arsenal and Roma, also agreed to a 10% sell-on clause with Real Sociedad to land Fresneda in 2023.

His first season was unfortunately derailed by shoulder surgery, which put him on the shelf for the winter, but he is now fit again and is still regarded as one of the best young right-backs in Europe.

The 20-year-old has made six appearances so far this season with Amorim carefully managing his development, but don’t expect this to be the last you hear from him.

7. Pedro Goncalves (€14.3 million)

Goncalves was signed to fill a gap left by Bruno Fernandes when he joined Manchester United in January 2020. Goncalves joined Sporting from Portuguese side Famalicao that summer – Amorim’s first player in charge of the first team.

A strange deal: Sporting initially paid 6.5 million euros to Goncalves, because they only signed half of his economic rights.

It took some time for him to develop, but by 2022-23 he had become the team’s main creator and in 2023-24 he wore the number eight shirt as they bought the rest of his rights and won the league.

The 26-year-old has started quickly again this season, with four goals and three assists from six league games.

6. Maxi Araujo (€16 million)

Sporting has no relationship with Barcelona’s Ronald Araujo and signed Maxi from Toluca this summer on a five-year contract.

The 24-year-old left-back has been capped 18 times by Uruguay and has made an impressive start in Europe, making 11 appearances and adding a goal and an assist.

Given United’s problems at left-back, he could be a name to keep an eye on.

5. Zeno Debast (€16 million)

This summer also saw the signing of Debast, an exciting young central defender who joined from Belgian side Anderlecht.

The 21-year-old is regarded as one of the best defensive players in European football and has already made 14 appearances for Belgium.

He made two costly mistakes during a nightmare debut against Porto, but after being taken out of the firing line he appears to have found his feet.

Notably, his first goal for the club in supreme style against Lille in the Champions League.

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4. Paulinho (€16 million)

Not that one. The striker joined Sporting midway through the 2020/21 season, reuniting with Amorim, who had worked with him at Braga before joining Sporting himself.

It was a club record signing for Sporting at the time, and although he scored only three league goals after signing for them that season, his goal against Boavista won them their first title in 19 years.

Paulinho proved to be a capable goalscorer in the seasons that followed, playing well with Viktor Gyokeres, but left this summer to sign for Liga MX side Toluca.

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3. Conrad Harder (€19 million)

Nordsjaelland had accepted a bid from Brighton for Harder this summer, but he opted to sign for Sporting when they also forked out the money for his services.

The 19-year-old is of course learning his trade behind Gyokeres, but has already scored three times for his new club in all competitions.

Amorim’s new club already has a Danish centre-forward waiting for him, but it feels as if Harder has been signed to Sporting if Gyokeres decides to leave. Interesting.

2. Morten Hjulmand (€21 million)

After Manuel Ugarte left Lisbon for Paris, Hjulmand was signed in the summer of 2023 to strengthen Sporting’s options at the base of midfield, allowing Amorim to continue implementing his style efficiently.

The 25-year-old enjoyed a strong first season in Portugal, making 49 appearances in all competitions as they won the Primeira Liga, attracting interest from Premier League clubs over the summer, with a respectable EURO 2024 campaign with Denmark also included.

However, he stayed put and was on the scoresheet against Nacional in the League Cup quarter-final – a match that could prove to be Amorim’s last game in charge of the club.

1. Viktor Gyokeres (€24 million)

Having signed from Coventry for a record fee following a fantastic 2022-23 season in which he scored 22 times and provided 12 assists in all competitions, there was still a risk in spending the money on someone who scored in the Championship.

Someone who had not seen Gyokeres would have said that anyway. Inevitably, the Swedish forward flourished on the big stage at Sporting, scoring an impressive 43 goals from 50 games in his first season, along with 15 assists.

Speculation about a move away this summer was inevitable, but Sporting have managed to keep Gyokeres for the time being – probably something to do with the reported €100 million release clause – and it has paid off.

He has already scored sixteen goals from his first fifteen games this season. Excessive.