RUBEN AMORIM looks set to be the manager appointed as the new boss of Manchester United following the sacking of Erik ten Hag.
The Sporting CP head coach will inherit a squad that sits 14th in the Premier League and 21st in the Europa League table.
However, that is not to say he will come into a total mess at Old Trafford, with a talented squad with a number of bright young talents set to be at his disposal.
The summer’s transfers under new bosses Ineos also appear to fit like a glove for Amorim’s style of play.
The addition of a new defensive midfielder in Manuel Ugarte and two centre-backs in Matthijs de Ligt and Leny Yoro have bolstered particularly weak areas of the squad from last season.
But problems have persisted over the summer, and Amorim, 39, will need to have a checklist of items on his agenda if he takes up the Red Devils mantle – as his idol Jose Mourinho once did.
Making a clear tactical identity
A common criticism of United under Ten Hag was a lack of clear identity and patterns of play.
Ten Hag said he wanted his side to be the best transitional team in the world. And to his credit, United did often look devastating when moving the ball from back to front quickly.
But there’s an argument to be had that this made them a one-trick pony, and far too often they would appear to have no pattern of play outside of long balls into the channels that would give way to chaos.
Amorim favours a shorter style of play, with his 3-4-3 formation seeing Sporting attempt the fewest long passes and most short passes in the Primeira Liga so far this season.
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Meanwhile, in the Premier League, United rank 10th for long passes and fifth for short passes.
The Old Trafford faithful are desperate to simply see a distinct pattern of play, since for the best part of three years, they seem to have lacked one on a consistent basis.
Make them tough to beat
Another major criticism of the Ten Hag era came with how easy the team were to play through and beat.
This was a particularly apparent flaw last season, with only Sheffield United giving up more shots against their goal than Man Utd.
The Red Devils have improved this time around and rank sixth among their peers in that metric.
However, the non-penalty Expected Goals metric for shots faced puts them down in 13th, showing that they give up a lot of high-quality chances.
Harrowing 3-0 defeats against Liverpool and Tottenham this season made that obvious.
Ten Hag’s United teams were no strangers to a comeback, but many games that should have been out of sight were lost due to a lack of concentration or clear defensive structure.
Amorim has a stunning record at Sporting, with 161 wins, 33 draws and 33 losses to his name.
In his last 15 defeats, Amorim’s team have only lost by more than one goal twice – with just one in the last ten being by two – while United lost games by three or more goals 24 times in Ten Hag’s reign.
Getting the best out of Ugarte
Ugarte is a star that Amorim knows well, with the defensive midfielder starring under him in Portugal before moving to Paris Saint-Germain for big money in 2023.
The Uruguay international struggled to get a foothold in Paris before moving to United this summer in a deal worth £42million up front that could rise to £51m.
Ugarte has shown glimpses of his talents already at United, with his role in the midweek draw at Fenerbahce seeing him win the ball back before setting the team away for a counter-attack which they scored from.
However, he desperately struggled in the defeat to Spurs, albeit he was not the only star at fault in a lifeless display after captain Bruno Fernandes was sent off.
Ugarte also does not seem the most technically proficient on the ball, which is exactly why a likely shift to a 3-4-3 under Amorim could hold the keys to unlocking the midfielder.
Allowing Ugarte to be a ball-winning specialist who can then recycle the ball to team-mates with a better eye for a pass – such as Lisandro Martinez or Leny Yoro stepping out from the back line – should help to maximise his ball economy.
Get the best finishers in scoring positions
Quite rightly, a fair portion of the blame for United’s slow start to the season has come down to the lack of quality finishing in the final third.
Indeed, United have the single worst xG differential of any club in England, with the players expected to have scored at least 6.6 more goals if they were finishing at an average level.
They also have the most big chances missed out of anyone in the division with 22.
However, one way Amorim can actually solve this issue is by getting the squad’s most clinical forwards, Rasmus Hojlund and Marcus Rashford, into those scoring positions more.
Using the West Ham game as an example, Alejandro Garnacho, Fernandes and Diogo Dalot were all guilty of missing huge chances in the first half, while Hojlund and Rashford were only afforded difficult half chances to score.
Garnacho, a clearly talented but rough-around-the-edges star, has five missed big chances this season, while Fernandes has four – a number equal with Joshua Zirkzee, who arrived with a reputation more as a facilitator rather than killer in front of goal.
Rashford’s credentials in scoring 30 goals only two seasons ago prove him to be a top finisher when in form, while Hojlund had a conversion rate of 27 per cent in the league last season.
A dynamic front three involving the pair with support from another forward and aggressive wing-backs could go a long way to solving the team’s performance issues in front of goal, without breaking the bank by going for the likes of Viktor Gyokeres.
Continue to champion youth progression
Ten Hag championed the introduction of youth talents into the first-team, which has yielded three of the club’s brightest prodigies in the current team in Garnacho, Kobbie Mainoo and Amad Diallo.
At Sporting, Amorim has also favoured this approach, with many stars being sold for huge profits under his watch before a new talent was unearthed and promoted from within.
Matheus Nunes, Nuno Mendes, Joao Palhinha, Pedro Porro, Chermiti and Ugarte are among the stars to play under him before being sold for big money.
For Sporting, that is simply the way of doing business, but United normally do not face the same pressure to sell their big talents to rivals.
And it is why they have a proud record of having an academy player in every one of their matchday squads for more than 86 years.
This would hand Amorim the tools to cultivate a plan with the youth prospects in the club’s academy and develop them to be ready for the first-team.
The Under-18s are excelling once again this season, with Chido Obi-Martin looking like a real talent after he was poached from Arsenal, while the likes of Harry Amass are on the cusp of earning minutes in the first-team.
Amorim’s own philosophy should align with United’s vision, so this should be an easy one for the former midfielder to implement.
