Jose Mourinho has planted his personal stamp of approval on highly-rated young coach Ruben Amorim.
The 39-year-old was thought to have been courted by Liverpool, though the Reds quickly pivoted to first-choice target Arne Slot.
“I like him as a person, I like him as a coach,” the former Chelsea head coach spoke to Mais Futebol.
“I think he’s capable of coaching in any league and he’s capable of coaching at any club. But he’s in a good league and he’s at a great club.
“It’s his decision and it will be, or not, up to the clubs that want him or don’t want him or want to convince him, with more or less arguments.”
This comes amid a less than idyllic ending to Jurgen Klopp’s nine-year reign at Anfield.
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Is Mourinho’s stamp of approval a warning?
Some might reasonably dismiss it as a flimsy argument, but might Liverpool have dodged a potential bullet if Amorim is the kind of boss to get the thumbs-up from football management’s Mr Difficult?
With the greatest of respect to Mourinho, he’s a ticking timebomb of a manager who can go off at the most inconvenient of moments.
Not to suggest the current Sporting Lisbon boss is necessarily cut from the same cloth, but it surely has to be a concern?
His recent alleged antics along with his entourage, attempting to drum up interest by applying pressure to Liverpool with a trip to London, certainly reinforces that image.
Who knows – he might turn out to have all the right answers and be a beloved figure elsewhere in England.
However, we rather suspect that Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes got it right by appointing Arne Slot.