Well, that didn't take long. Ruben Amorim has been appointed as the new head coach of AC Milan, roughly five months after Manchester United decided they'd seen enough and sent him on his way. Say what you want about the man, but the top clubs clearly still believe in him, and landing the Milan job is no small thing.
From a United fan's perspective, this one stings just a little. Not because Amorim was some kind of genius at Old Trafford, because honestly he wasn't, but because it raises the obvious question of whether he just needed a fresh start somewhere with a bit less chaos. United under Amorim was a strange experience. There were glimpses of a proper idea in there, a style he clearly believed in, but the results were poor and the squad looked completely lost inside his system. Milan will be hoping a clean slate does what United couldn't.
For Milan, this is a genuinely interesting appointment. They've had a frustrating couple of seasons by their own lofty standards and they clearly want someone with a modern, progressive approach to the game. Amorim fits that profile on paper. His work at Sporting CP was genuinely impressive, building a team that played with real identity and purpose, and that's presumably what Milan are buying into here.
The big question is whether he can translate his ideas to a different league, a different culture and a squad that he didn't build himself. That's exactly the challenge he couldn't quite crack in Manchester, so the pressure will be on him to show that the Premier League experience, painful as it was, has made him a better coach rather than a more cautious one.
It's a brave move by Milan and a brave move by Amorim. Serie A is tactically demanding, the fanbase is passionate and unforgiving, and expectations at a club like Milan are never low. But if it clicks, this could be a really exciting project to watch from the outside.
As a United fan, the honest take is simple. Good luck to him. Just not too much luck. Let me know your thoughts.