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Man United's Geovany Quenda transfer plan is insight into Ineos and Dan Ashworth blueprint

Geovany Quenda during a Sporting Lisbon match

Geovany Quenda is a transfer target for Manchester United

Ruben Amorim becoming Manchester United head coach was the first major managerial appointment Ineos and Sir Jim Ratcliffe have had to make since becoming minority shareholders at the club.

The Portuguese head coach is unbeaten in his first two games in charge of the Reds, drawing his first Premier League clash with Ipswich Town before coming from behind to beat Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League in midweek. The United boss has already called for patience as he looks to implement his ideas with the Reds in a new look 3-4-2-1 formation.

Amorim has made the decision to split his coaching staff into groups in an attempt to fast track his ideas across the the players. There's not much the new boss can do in terms of changing personnel given the transfer window is shut until New Year's Day, but we're already hearing murmurings about potential additions to the United squad.

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United have met with the representatives of Sporting's rising star Geovany Quenda - a player Amorim knows well from his time at the Portuguese club. That being said, he's a player the Reds have been tracking since before Amorim's arrival.

It's yet another indication as to the direction Ineos and Dan Ashworth want to take the club, having overseen their first transfer window at the club this summer. However, we didn't necessarily see a huge change in tact from previous windows given Erik ten Hag's desire to work with former players.

United signed Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt as per Ten Hag's wishes, but there was one signing that offered a huge insight into the direction the club wants to go in. Leny Yoro may have endured a disappointing start to life at United through injuries, but the young French defender is one of the most exciting prospects in European football, linked with Real Madrid prior to his move to United.

Quenda is a player of a similar profile, albeit unlike Yoro, was largely unheard until the last few months. United sporting director Dan Ashworth built an impressive profile of signings during his time as Brighton director, before moving on to Newcastle United.

The now-Reds chief didn't necessarily work much magic at St, James' Park given the length of his tenure in the North East, but we're already starting to see his influence at Old Trafford. Brighton excelled in signing players with huge potential, for very little value before generating huge transfer profits.

At United, the model is different, but the underlying ethos remains the same. Quenda has only made 20 senior appearances for Sporting having been named in their matchday squad for the first time by none other than Amorim.

He became the club's youngest league scorer against Famalicão last month, beating Cristiano Ronaldo's record, and is Sporting's youngest player to start in the Champions League. It's clear the youngster has huge potential but offers a huge insight into the profile of players United are now targeting.

However, there is the warning from Amorim that he won't raid his former club for players in Janury, hinting that a move for Quenda will likely be a summer switch.

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