Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel disagrees with Paul Scholes over Ruben Amorim

Peter Schmeichel says he is ‘convinced’ Ruben Amorim is a ‘great candidate’ for Manchester United – but only if the Sporting manager is ready to take charge immediately.

United parted ways with Erik ten Hag on Monday on the back of a miserable run of results for the Old Trafford giants, with assistant manager Ruud van Nistelrooy stepping in to take over the reins as interim boss.

The search for Ten Hag’s permanent successor is already well underway and Amorim – widely regarded as one of the finest young coaches in European football – is in advanced discussions over a proposed switch to the north west.

Amorim, 39, is thought to be keen to push through a move to the Theatre of Dreams and Sporting confirmed this afternoon that United had agreed to pay the Portuguese’s €10million (£8.3m) release clause in full.

Manchester City have also been credited with an interest in Amorim in recent weeks, with Pep Guardiola yet to commit his future to the Premier League champions beyond the end of the season.

On Amorim, United legend Schmeichel told BBC Sport: ‘Is he going to leave Sporting now because it’s Manchester United or is he going to stay [at Sporting] until the end of the season?’

‘He’s a great candidate and I’m convinced about that. If he’s going to stay until the end of the season, he’s not a great candidate.

‘This has got to be resolved now. It’s got to be now. We cannot have another period of interim manager.

‘It’s got to be now, we’ve got to be able to stop what has happened so far this season and look to the future.

‘We cannot sit and wait. We’ve already waited and waited, we’ve already wasted so many years on not being very good.’

Schmeichel is adamant United cannot afford to wait until next summer to hire Amorim given how far the club have fallen behind their Premier League rivals.

‘[United are] so far behind Manchester City, so far behind Arsenal and so far behind Liverpool,’ the ex-United and Denmark goalkeeper added.

‘If you want to win the Premier League you’ve got to match what they have and we are far behind so we need to start this process now and not in the summer.’

Schmeichel’s long-time team-mate, Paul Scholes, disagrees with the Dane over Amorim, though, questioning United’s pursuit of the Portuguese manager and naming Zinedine Zidane and Xavi as his preferred options.

‘I felt United had missed out on him [Thomas Tuchel]. I think it was documented that they had conversations with him, as and when I’m not too sure,’ Scholes told TNT Sport.

‘Xavi is more recent. Manchester United are the biggest club in the world, so they need the best of the best. If they think Xavi is that man, then it’s a risky one.

‘But he’s managed at an elite level with a club very similar to Manchester United in Spain with Barcelona. They won the league against Carlo Ancelotti’s [Real Madrid] team in difficult circumstances, so I wouldn’t be against that.

‘There’s Zinedine Zidane who was very successful at Real Madrid. Whether he wants to come to England, I very much doubt. He’s another name, and then you think about Ruben Amorim at Sporting Lisbon.

‘Again, that’s a similar one to Ten Hag, doing well in a league that isn’t as well known or of the same stature as other leagues in Europe, but has done very well.

‘Then you look at the likes of Thomas Frank, but then the expectations at Brentford are less than at Manchester United.

‘Thomas Tuchel would have been my man, but that’s now gone. However, there are still people out there who have a chance to make the team successful.’

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