Starting XI worth over €550m – How Man United could line-up under new boss Rúben Amorim

Starting XI worth over €550m – How Man United could line-up under new boss Rúben Amorim

Rúben Amorim has been announced as Manchester United’s new manager after Erik ten Hag was sacked.

Old Trafford officials swiftly appointed Amorim, paying Sporting CP’s €11 million release clause to acquire the highly rated 39-year-old.

However, Amorim won’t play for United until November 11th, following the international break, when he plays his debut Premier League away game against Ipswich.

After winning ten of his first 13 games, the Portuguese manager rejuvenated the Lisbon giants and was lured away from Braga by Sporting CP.

At the age of 36, Amorim guided Sporting to their first league championship in 19 years in 2021, and he won their second league championship the previous season.

The former Portugal international is known for nurturing and advancing young Sporting players like Matheus Nunes, Ousmane Diomande, and Nuno Mendes.

Amorim uses a 3-4-2-1 shape, emphasizing high possession and adaptability from an offensive standpoint.

With the wing-backs providing width and one of the center-backs frequently moving into midfield to generate passing angles, the three center-backs are essential throughout the build-up phase. Sporting has improved tremendously under Amorim in terms of attack construction and press resistance.

When examining tactical strategies, it is essential to take into account the financial gap between the top three Portuguese clubs—Porto, Sporting, and Benfica—and the other elite teams.

For example, Sporting had the fourth highest line in the top ten European leagues last season but Porto and Benfica ranked second and third, which highlights how they can play aggressively due to their domestic dominance – Man United ranked 54th (FBref).

Since the start of the 2023/24 season, Sporting are the top scorers across the top leagues (126) when including the Liga Portugal.

How Manchester United could line-up under Rúben Amorim

How Amorim will adopt his favoured back three formation at United in the Premier League will be fascinating as he’s not expected to change his approach.

Only two clubs – Crystal Palace and Brentford – have deployed a back three in the Premier League this season with United playing a back four throughout Ten Hag’s tenure.

Amorim will, in time, be afforded financial backing in the transfer window to sign players suited to his system but that’s unlikely to be in January due to financial pressures with United spending around €30m in changing managers.

If Amorim had a fully fit squad to choose from then United would have players that could thrive in his preferred 3-4-1-2 formation.

Lisandro Martínez, Mattijs de Ligt and Leny Yoro – yet to play for the club – would represent three quality options at centre-back.

Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui would battle to play on the right but the left-hand side continues to be a major concern.

Luke Shaw hasn’t played for United since February while Tyrell Malacia hasn’t featured for well over a year.

Shaw is an elite option when fit but he simply can’t be relied upon and this is a priority area to address in the transfer market.

Manuel Ugarte flourished under Amorim at Sporting and he’d likely form a midfield partnership alongside Kobbie Mainoo with Casemiro and Christian Eriksen providing back up.

For his two attacking players behind the striker, Amorim has generally preferred using one technically proficient No.10 type player with a more traditional wide attacker – which would suit Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford.

Alejandro Garancho, Amad and Joshua Zirkzee could also be deployed in these roles with Rasmus Højlund comfortably United’s best number nine