Man City barged aside as Amorim urges Ashworth to 'fast-track' £66.6m clause for Danish powerhouse

Manchester United are reported to be confident of beating Manchester City to Morten Hjulmand in January, with Ruben Amorim said to have made the Sporting CP midfielder a priority signing having learned of Pep Guardiola’s desire to bring the Dane to the Etihad.

A new era is underway at Old Trafford with Amorim stepping into the hotseat vacated by Erik ten Hag and charged with restoring the Red Devils to their former glories. Chasing down City will be one of Amorim’s long-term targets, with their noisy neighbours winning 18 major honours compared to Manchester United‘s five since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure 11 and a half years ago.

However, while United will hope to rapidly climb the table and are currently sat in a lowly 12th, Manchester City have suffered a shocking blip of their own, failing to win in seven matches, including a run of five straight losses in all competitions.

Now in a bid to stop their malaise – which many feel has been induced by the season-ending injury sustained by Rodri – Guardiola has reportedly ordered the Cityzens to sign three stars totalling €260m in the January window – with a new midfielder very much at the top of their wishlist.

Per Givemesport, Guardiola is ready to make a beeline for the signing of Hjulmand in the January window, seeing the €80m (£66.6m, $84.4m) clause in his deal as an opportunity not to be missed.

But after being alerted to City’s growing interest in the Danish star, the article claims Amorim has urged United sporting director Dan Ashworth to ‘fast-track’ a move of their own for the 15-times capped star, and will look to strike a deal for the defensive midfielder as soon as the January transfer window.

They claim both United and City had scouts in attendance at the Estadio Jose Alvalade on Tuesday night during the Champions League game against Arsenal to run the rule over Hjulmand, among others.

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Amorim may go back on his transfer promise to Sporting CP over Hjulmand

The 25-year-old midfielder was a key figure for Sporting under Amorim, featuring 65 times under the Portuguese and contributing towards 11 goals in that time.

United had initially made Hjulmand one of their top summer targets, but having learned City are looking into a deal themselves, the Red Devils now want to bring forward that plan and believe the presence of Amorim could secure them an added advantage.

The United boss had initially promised not to sign any Sporting stars during the winter window upon his move to Old Trafford, though could not offer any guarantees when it came to the summer window.

“I won’t in January, that’s what I said. I don’t know about the summer,” Amorim told reporters in Portugal when news of his impending move to Old Trafford first broke at the start of the month.

“The first point – to hold on until the summer. Sporting’s players are very good players. I don’t know. We’ll see.”

In a follow-up interview, when questioned about Viktor Gyokeres – another Sporting CP star United are keen on – Amorim told A Bola: “This is my city, this is my country, so I’ll respect it.

However, Amorim already knows that by triggering his exit clause either United or City, will be entitled to open talks with the player over personal terms, amid claims that a move to Manchester could well be on the cards for the former Lecce man.

Latest Man Utd transfer news: Nkunku talk derailed; Rio warning over Gyokeres

Meanwhile, United’s reported interest in signing Chelsea playmaker Christopher Nkunku has forced Enzo Maresca into making a strong claim over the Frenchman’s future, with the Blues boss ‘guaranteeing’ the star will not be allowed to leave in January.

However, in the Italian’s own words, he faces a dilemma trying to give his bloated squad regular minutes with three players all battling for the same position in the Chelsea side.

Elsewhere, Rio Ferdinand has expressed his reservations about United’s apparent interest in bringing Gyokeres to Old Trafford in 2025 after highlighting a weakness in the Swede’s armoury and suggesting his goalscoring record might not be all it is cracked up to be.

And finally, Amorim’s stance on Joshua Zirkzee can now be revealed – with sources explaining why talk the £36.5m summer signing could be shown the door in January is somewhat premature.

IN-PROFILE: Hjulmand’s rapid rise in the game

Morten Hjulmand’s stats for Sporting CP this season

2018/19: Hjulmand left Copenhagen to join Austrian side Admira Wacker in the summer of 2018.

He established himself as a key player in his debut season and made 32 appearances in all competitions.

2019/20: The midfielder made another 31 appearances in his second season and scored his first senior goal in a 4-1 win over Altach.

2020/21: Hjulmand started his third season in Austria before joining Leece in January 2021 for a fee of €170,000.

He made 19 Serie B appearances in the second half of the season and helped them reach the promotion play-offs semi-finals, where they lost 2-1 on aggregate to Venezia.

2021/22: The Denmark international helped Leece win the Serie B title in 2021/22 and was an ever-present in their team, starting 36 of their 38 league games.

2022/23: Hjulmand was appointed club captain ahead of the 2022/23 season and made a seamless step up to Serie A football.

He made 35 appearances in the top-flight and his performances in the middle of the park helped the club narrowly avoid relegation.

2023/24: Sporting CP spent an initial €18million and another €2million in add-ons to sign Hjulmand in August 2023.

The midfielder enjoyed a brilliant debut season in Portugal and won the Primeira Liga title while also earning a place in the Primeira Liga Team of the Year.

He then represented Denmark at Euro 2024 and scored against England but missed the round of 16 defeat to Germany due to suspension.

2024/25: Hjulmand was appointed Sporting CP captain by Ruben Amorim in the summer and has now made his debut in the Champions League.

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