Ruben Amorim denies talks with Liverpool, but remains the favorite to succeed Jurgen Klopp and the coach will leave Sporting Lisbon

Ruben Amorim has denied claims he has spoken to Liverpool about the possibility of succeeding Jurgen Klopp as their next manager.

However, he remains one of the favorites for the Anfield job, with the Portuguese manager He is expected to leave his current position at Sporting Lisbon. at the end of the season.

talkSPORT brought you news earlier this week that Liverpool had met with Amorim representatives to take Klopp's place at the helm of the Merseyside giants.

However, there has been no direct contact with the man himself and, as reported on Tuesday, although a meeting has been held with representatives there is no agreement between the parties.

And the highly qualified young coach was keen to point this out when asked by reporters about his future on Thursday, with the 39-year-old insisting he is fully committed to his job at Sporting as his side aim for league glory.

“This is the last time I will talk about my future,” said Amorim, whose Sporting is top of the Portugal League, four points ahead of rival Benfica and with a game in hand.

“There was no interview and much less agreement (with Liverpool). The only thing we want, all of us here, is to be champions with Sporting and nothing will change.

“I repeat: I am the coach of Sporting. There was no interview with any club, no agreement with any club, I am focused, as always, on defending my club.

“And since I really have nothing to say, there will be no interviews or agreements with the Sporting coach. “The matter is resolved, whether for your club or another.”

It's a strong statement from the Amorim, but it's not as big a blow for Liverpool as it seems.

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Although it seems that it is another coach who is crossed off from the following list Xabi Alonso's decision to stay at Bayer LeverkusentalkSPORT understands that he remains one of the firm favorites to take charge of Liverpool.

Bosses at the Merseyside club are planning to carry out an exhaustive search for Klopp's successor and will follow a rigid process that will cover all the bases, rather than going all-in on one name.

Liverpool are yet to speak directly to any of their targets, with Amorim, who speaks fluent English, expected to be one of three candidates to whom the Premier League giants will grant a formal interview.

Alonso was also one of those names before committing his future to Leverkusen and announcing that he would stay at the German club, which will be crowned Bundesliga champions for the first time.

Amorim didn't do that.

According Ben Jacobs, talkSPORT football correspondentHis comments on Thursday are perhaps evidence of the step-by-step process Liverpool are following in their search, and simply that they have not yet formally spoken to him.

Liverpool are understood to begin more formal talks with their targets in April.

Meanwhile, Amorim is still expected to leave Sporting at the end of the season, whether they win the title or not, despite not wanting to talk about his future on Thursday.

It is believed that he has already made the decision and is waiting to announce his departure until after the last game of the season, by which time Sporting could already be confirmed as champions for the second time in his tenure.

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Amorim was only in his second season in charge when he led Sporting to their first league title in 19 years in the 2020/21 campaign. He was only 36 years old at the time.

That came after a fast rise in Bragawhere he was promoted to lead the senior team after only three months coaching the reserve team.

Then, three months after taking on his first senior coaching role, he was hired by one of Portugal's big three clubs and was named Sporting's new manager.

Since his appointment in March 2020, Amorim has won 152 of his 215 games in charge and his team has scored an impressive 456 goals.

As a player, Amorim spent most of his career in his homeland, where he lifted ten major trophies, including three league titles with Benfica, and also represented Portugal at the 2010 and 2014 World Cups.