Manchester United are about to enter a new era.
Ruud van Nistelrooy was able to sign off his stint in interim spell as Manchester United manager with a 3-0 win over Leicester City on Sunday. Meanwhile, incoming boss Ruben Amorim, has completed his work at Sporting Lisbon, with the Liga Portugal leaders producing a stirring comeback away at Braga - turning a 2-0 deficit into a 4-2 win - in his final game in charge.
The 39-year-old said his goodbyes to players and supporters, with the plan being to immediately fly over to England on Monday and officially begin his mammoth job at one of the biggest clubs on the planet. Yet that plan will now face an alteration, with Amorim facing one final wait before he can get to work at Old Trafford.
Why Ruben Amorim isn't yet able to officially start work at Manchester United
When the news broke on November 1 that United had secured an agreement to bring in Amorim, the club statement confirmed that he would join the club on November 11.
However, the Portuguese coach won't be able to do any official work, at least for a few days, despite officially leaving Sporting CP. This is down to a delay in securing a work permit for Amorim - without one won't be able to take training at Carrington.
This does not mean there is any danger of Amorim not taking charge of United's next game against Ipswich Town. Old Trafford officials expect the work visa to be formally granted over the coming days, with the process a formality.
Due to the international break United's next fixture, away at Portman Road, is not until November 24. But it does mean that Amorim won't be able to take an opening training session, with the players not called up for international duty, at least until the permit comes through.
The manager will be keen to get to work quickly, with United having endured a difficult start to the season, although the win over Leicester does leave them only four points behind the top four.
Amorim admitted the difficulty of the task at hand following his final game in charge of Sporting on Sunday. "It’s going to be difficult, I’m not under any illusions,” he said. “I feel ready for the new challenge. I’m not naive, I know it’s going to be very different, very difficult."
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In FourFourTwo's opinion, United will still be anxious to get the work permit through as quickly as possible.
Bringing in a new manager over the international break is normally good timing. After all, it gives the coach the required time on the training pitch to implement their own style of play or tactical philosophy.
This is even more important on this occasion if, as is expected, Amorim deploys his tried and trusted 3-4-2-1, switching United to three centre-backs.
A couple of days wait to allow him to start work at Carrington may not seem a lot in the grand scheme of things. But considering United have already had to wait a few weeks for Amorim to leave Sporting, it is a further delay club chiefs will want to minimise.
