Ruben Amorim will soon leave a team with 10 league wins this season for one with nine league goals. He will quit a side first in their domestic league for one in 13th. He will move from a club currently eighth in the Champions League table to one now 21st in the Europa League standings. There are other ways, of course, in which Amorim is not trading down when he swaps Sporting CP for Manchester United.
For now, however, his inheritance is decidedly mixed. Just because United spent some £600m under Erik ten Hag does not mean they acquired £600m worth of players. Amorim will walk into a club at historic lows: United have their lowest number of points after 10 games since 1986-87, their fewest goals at this stage since 1973-74.