Jose Mourinho believes Manchester United are getting the best coach in Portugal in Ruben Amorim

Jose Mourinho believes Manchester United will be hiring the "best manager in Portugal" in Ruben Amorim.

The Manchester Evening News revealed on Monday Sporting coach Amorim has agreed in principle to take over at United, who have agreed to pay his release clause at Sporting. United are now negotiating a separate fee for Amorim's backroom staff.

Amorim, 39, visited United's Carrington training complex when Mourinho was their manager in April 2018 for an internship and the Fenerbahce coach remembers a "good kid". Amorim had started a postgraduate degree at the University of Lisbon and Mourinho was a coordinator and lecturer on its High Performance Coaching course.

READ MORE: United agree deal for Amorim

READ MORE: Amorim agrees to take over at United

Sporting are top of the Primeira Liga with nine wins from nine, scoring 30 goals. Mourinho believes Amorim will not be as gung-ho as his favoured 3-4-3 formation suggests as he switches to a 5-4-1 shape out of possession with a low block.

Mourinho insists Amorim never changes his approach regardless of the opposition and his tactics provide depth for the wingers and the striker. He described his style as "always intense".

Amorim is set to become United's second Portuguese coach after Mourinho, who remains their best manager of the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era. Mourinho guided United to League Cup and Europa League triumphs, their joint-highest Premier League finish of second, as well as their highest points haul, and an FA Cup final. He also has the highest win percentage.

"I wish the best to Man United since the moment I left," Mourinho said ahead of Fenerbahce's 1-1 Europa League draw with United last week. "I left with a good feeling to the club, with a good feeling to the fans and I want the best for them.

"So if things are not going amazingly well for them it's not something that makes me happy. But at the same time I have no time and it doesn't make sense for me to be thinking about what happened, what didn't happen.

"What happened for sure, because it's very objective, is that they keep faith in the coach (Erik ten Hag), they support the coach, the coach is staying season after season and that means stability, it means trust and they are giving him conditions to keep developing his job, that was a difference in relation to me.

"Because, as you know, we won Europa League, we finished second in the Premier League, I think we still have a chance to win that league because if they punish Man City with points maybe we win that league and then they have to pay me the bonus and give me the medal!"

Interim United manager Ruud van Nistelrooy will attend their pre-match press conference today for the Premier League visit of Chelsea on Sunday. Amorim will also address the press ahead of Sporting's league fixture against Estrela Amadora on Friday.

Sporting play United's neighbours Manchester City on Tuesday in their fourth Champions League match.