Ruben Amorim becomes the first Manchester United manager to win his 50th game in charge since Sir Alex Ferguson after they beat Sunderland 2-0 at Old Trafford. Stats of Amorim on number of wins is the lowest since 1945 reflecting the relegation form that team has endured 11 months into his reign. Much of the talk centred around the 3-4-3 'system' favoured by the Portuguese which required box-to-box midfielders with wing-backs being able to deliver quality assists alongside defensive duties and centre-half's able to play a high-line. Despite having a decent summer transfer window in which they acquired Cunha, Mbeumo, Sesko, Lammens; it's not enough given the change of system from Erik ten Hag to Amorim.
United missed an easy and obvious possibility to sign captain Bruno Fernandes's companion in Portuguese National team Joao Palhinha from Bayern Munich. Agreed he is 30 but would have fulfilled the main criteria of summer window i.e., Premier League proven player. United did not exercise "loan with an option to buy" type of transfer. Tottenham were clever to see the need for Bayern to offload the player. Amorim's preference is thought to have been his old club Sporting's Danish international Morten Hjulmand. Amorim preferred playing Manuel Ugarte for the Lion's over Palhinha might have raised an obvious alarm to not press ahead with this option.
Fans are still waiting for United to sign one of hottest prospects as outlined by the Athletic's Thom Harris in his piece 'Under-the-radar transfers'. No surprise in guessing which two Premier League clubs made the list: Brighton's Olivier Boscagli and Bournemouth's Adrien Truffert. The two B's have an excellent data-driven scouting and recruitment team. United did sign 18-year old left-back Diego Leon from Paraguay in January but is not ready made like Chido Obi and Heaven though neither of them have played in the Premier League this season. Could Hayden Hackney acquisition put United in the list? Probably.
As outlined previously Sir Alex Ferguson concentrated on the spine of the team first rather than just one area. United missed capitalizing on selling Harry Maguire as he and Matthijs de Ligt are of the same profile while the Dutchman is 6-years younger with experience of playing for big clubs like Juventus and Bayern. Once Bruno Fernandes confirmed his intention to stay, Maguire became expendable. United acquired Maguire for world record fee of £80million but could not recoup that in terms of Maguire becoming the best centre-back in the Premier League given Virgil van Dijk went for similar fee and is seen as an contemporary. Transfer fee would have been less but the wage-bill would have come down significantly.
Too many number #10's. Bruno Fernandes's most favoured position is behind the striker. Mason Mount, Joshua Zirkzee also like to play there naturally and are both gifted with awareness of what's around them. Amad has played there but likes to cut-in from right so often deployed as a winger or wing-back. That's four of existing XI then United add Cunha and Mbeumo! For the 3-4-3 system Zirkzee is clearly expendable. Andre Onana was in poor form at United and a new, experienced keeper was needed. With no midfield and poor defence all focus shifts to the goalkeeper unfortunately. Argentine World Cup winner Emi Martinez was sought for season-long loan which Aston Villa rejected.
United were wise to confirm the 'bomb squad' who wanted to move out: Rashford, Sancho, Garnacho, Anthony; isolate them by not being part of first team setup and ultimately achieved the objective. In addition, they needed to identify players who did not fit Amorim's system, try to move them out thereby helping the team get more balance. Communication should have been clear around Maguire, Zirkzee, Onana and they have been thorough professionals who just could not be accommodated. Consequently, United squad is still heavily imbalanced despite the summer incomings and disposal of 'bomb squad'.
10 points from 7 games but with negative goal difference of 2 puts United in 10th place. Games against Man City and Brentford were devastating morale-wise coming after that horrific loss to Grimsby in League Cup rightly putting Ruben Amorim under immense pressure. Victory against promoted teams Burnley and Sunderland, and against Chelsea has given Amorim another opportunity till the next break to earn back-to-back victory which has been elusive in his reign. Liverpool, Brighton, Forest and Spurs await United next. Anfield visit has always been the litmus test and the most unlikely destination for back-to-back wins. Amorim's tenure needs results to keep going. Senne Lammens debuted with a clean-sheet was a welcome reprieve for fans wanting to desperately cheer for something and it was made even more memorable by singing "Are you Schmeichel in disguise?" in Old Trafford. Can Lammens thwart Liverpool at Anfield? Believe.
