Manchester United will give new head coach Rúben Amorim a say before making contract decisions on players approaching the end of their deals, sources have told ESPN.
Amorim has signed an initial two-and-a-half year contract at Old Trafford and will start work on Nov. 11 after overseeing his final two games as Sporting CP boss.
Victor Lindelöf and Christian Eriksen are among the United players out of contract at the end of the season, and sources have told ESPN that the club will give Amorim time to form his own opinions before concrete decisions are made.
Harry Maguire and Amad Diallo also have deals until the end of the season, although in both cases the club hold options to extend by an additional year until 2026.
Amorim had agreed to become United head coach rather than manager and his influence over recruitment will be reduced compared to predecessor Erik ten Hag.
Sources have told ESPN that he will be asked for his opinion about which players to retain, but final decisions will be made by CEO Omar Berrada, sporting director Dan Ashworth and technical director Jason Wilcox.
Amorim is set to oversee a switch to his favoured 3-4-3 system when he takes over leaving the door open for players to impress if they can quickly adapt to his tactical plan.
Maguire struggled to nail down a regular place under Ten Hag, but the 31-year-old, who almost joined West Ham in 2023, has experience playing in three-man defence. He had a successful spell in a back three under former England manager Gareth Southgate.
United were willing to listen to offers for Lindelof in the summer only for an injury during preseason to put an end any hope of a move away.
The Sweden international is fit again and knows Amorim from their time together at Benfica. He’s free to talk to clubs outside the Premier League from January and has been linked with a move to Fenerbahce to reunite with former United boss Jose Mourinho.