Manchester United have a new main man, and Ruben Amorim faces some big questions as he takes the hot seat at Old Trafford.
INEOS have acted decisively in identifying Amorim and firing Erik ten Hag, who had won two trophies for the Red Devils but struggled mightily to the start the season.
Or did he? Man United did produce attacking chances while failing to finish, and therein lies the rub for Amorim as he begins a long-term project with a plethora of short-term problems.
Is Amorim, 39, going to go with what he knows or slowly evolve United into his vision? That’s the first of many big questions facing the Portuguese boss who is leaving a picture-perfect start to the season at Sporting Lisbon for a tricky spot in Manchester.
Will Ruben Amorim opt for preferred formation right away?
This is the biggest question for Amorim, who could well be taking over an improved Red Devils team. Man United beat Leicester City 5-2 in the League Cup under interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy, and the Dutchman will stay home at Old Trafford for successive matches with Chelsea, PAOK, and Leicester again. There’s plenty of room for a pre-Amorim uptick in vibes and points.
Amorim then arrives at the start of the international break, so there will be plenty of time for him to dive into his preferred 3-4-3 (or 3-4-2-1) if he thinks it can be ready for a fairly soft landing, fixture-wise.
United’s first six fixtures after the international break include Ipswich Town, Bodo/Glimt, Everton, Arsenal, Nottingham Forest, and Viktoria Plzen. The Arsenal fixture stands out, of course, but the other five give him a terrific amount of time to evaluate his depth (presuming some notable members of United’s injury list come back to health by then).
Amorim played three center backs for all but three of his matches as a senior manager dating back to his Casa Pia debut on Sept. 8, 2018. Two of those three were in 2018 with Casa Pia while his only back four start with Sporting was a 2023 Portuguese League Cup match against relative minnows Olivais e Moscavide.
How would a back three look for Amorim at Manchester United?
Erik ten Hag only played a back four at United (As a matter of fact, his last back three start came in 2018 at Ajax).
Knowing Amorim’s aforementioned formation preference, United fans should probably prepare for back three growing pains.
After all, Lisandro Martinez was with Ten Hag as a left back or center back for most of his career in Europe. Still-injured and young Leny Yoro comes from a Lille which played a back four.
But Matthijs de Ligt, Victor Lindelof, and Harry Maguire all have back three experience and both Casemiro and Luke Shaw could fit there, too.
De Ligt seems the favorite to run the middle of a back three, while Lisandro Martinez at left center back makes sense with familiar face Noussair Mazraoui or Luke Shaw in front of him.
How about right center back? De Ligt is right-footed should Amorim see his best option as Maguire or Casemiro. Jonny Evans is two-footed, too.
We might suggest Lindelof as a wild card, even with a contract set to expire this summer. The right-footed back is in his center back prime at 30 and is a good ball carrier for the right side.
Manchester United’s January transfer window: What’s lacking?
Amorim finds himself with a rich array of options for his lineup, and three center backs with contracts set to expire this summer: Lindelof, Maguire, and Evans.
So the easiest “2+2″ scenario of all-time is to project Amorim for a January pursuit of Goncalo Inacio, one of the more under-the-radar star CBs in the world. Ignacio has been a huge part of Amorim’s success, and the left-footed center back has experience playing under Manuel Ugarte.
Amad Diallo, Tom Heaton, and Christian Eriksen are the only other United contracts set for summer expiry, with Casemiro and Tyrell Malacia on the horizon for 2025.
It stands to reason that the next two months will be exploring his current center backs and figuring out whether Rasmus Hojlund or Joshua Zirkzee can be his new Viktor Gyokeres at center forward.
The Bruno Fernandes conundrum
Fernandes is a Portuguese hero, United’s captain, and a Sporting export, and his freelancing often leads to tremendous, breath-taking goals and assists for the Red Devils.
It’s also led to sincere strain on this midfield for much of his career at United, asking players like Fred, Scott McTominay, Casemiro, and Mainoo to keep an eye on a big hole in front of them.
But Amorim’s 3-4-3 can resemble a 3-4-2-1, and Fernandes as one of the two inverted wingers/attacking midfielders can absolutely work a treat in theory.
While Fernandes has played center forward, it’s unlikely that his future is there under Amorim given the way Gyokeres thrived for him at Sporting. But Fernandes as an inverted winger would really challenge Amorim to get minutes for Alejandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford, Mason Mount, Amad Diallo, or (in an unlikely new love story) Antony.
Garnacho wouldn’t necessarily be as joyful as he looks out wide, but the 3-4-2-1 would give support underneath his proclivity to play with the ball everywhere on the pitch.
Is Andre Onana the man?
At 28 years old, Andre Onana could be Amorim’s long-term answer at goalkeeper.
Or he could soon depart Old Trafford.
Amorim has split time between keepers the past few seasons as Antonio Adan went from full-time veteran keeper to injury-hit keeper and, now, perhaps a retired one.
Onana’s been an excellent shot-stopper this season, looks settled in Manchester, and is comfortable with the ball at his feet.
With Africa Cup of Nations coming up for Onana in December, Altay Bayindir will theoretically also get time to impress Amorim. Goalkeeper at the moment is not a huge concern for Man United, but this will be worth monitoring over Amorim’s early matches.
