Ruuben Amorim has boarded his flight to Manchester to begin work as Man United’s new head coach.

The former Sporting Lisbon boss was joined by his five assistants – Carlos Fernandes, Adelio Candido, Paulo Barreira, Emanuel Ferro, and Jorge Vital – on the 11am flight from Beja on Monday morning. The Portuguese is set to touch down in Manchester at just before 2pm UK time.

Amorim enjoyed a fairytale farewell at Sporting on Sunday evening, less than 12 hours before jetting off to take on his new Red Devils role, as the Portuguese club fought back from two goals down to triumph 4-2 over Braga. Now, the 39-year-old head coach turns his attention to Manchester United and the immediate issue of holding crunch talks with interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy.

The Portuguese manager enjoyed a triumphant end to his tenure as Sporting Lisbon boss, fighting back to win 4-2 over Braga on Sunday less than 12 hours before jetting to Manchester

Carlos Fernandes, Amorim’s No 2 who was spotted boarding the flight on Monday, bid an emotional farewell to Sporting fans and effectively confirmed his new chapter at Manchester United. Fernandes has been an ever-present alongside Amorim since the incoming Manchester United boss began his career in coaching. He is part of a new wave of coaching who never played professionally and has been involved in coaching from as early as his teenage years. Writing on Instagram, the assistant manager said: ‘The adventure that changed my life… so many moments that I will cherish forever. There is no other feeling other than eternal gratitude towards those who helped us create something so special: players for whom there are no words, colleagues who became friends and everyone

Despite Amorim’s eagerly-anticipated arrival, the Portuguese will not be able to start work officially at Manchester United until a work permit is secured. Mail Sport reported on Sunday night that Amorim is still waiting for the paperwork to be processed and thus cannot start officially begin his new job or ‘get his feet on the grass’, according to United sources. Most of the players will be away on international duty anyway, with Amorim’s first game not for another two weeks against Ipswich at Portman Road on November 24.