I like that Amorim hasn’t been afraid to tinker with the line up and really get a good idea about what the players he is working with are capable of.
I think a few things are starting to emerge and give us a slightly clearer picture of what/ who needs changing.
The surprise has been Amad, it’s not been a surprise that he has been great, but that he’s done so from the wingback position. My first thoughts when Amorim was appointed was that he’d like Amad, but I thought that would be as one of the attacking midfielders/ inside forwards. Maybe long term that is where Amad ends up, but right now with how he is playing you’d be mad to move him.
Mazraoui has continued to be excellent, what a signing. I think he’ll be mostly played as a CB under Amorim. I’m not convinced he suits the wingback role that Amorim uses. He seems to want intensity in the wingbacks. Which isn’t something Mazraoui really has. That RCB role looks pretty settled with Mazraoui and Yoro fighting it out for that position.
MdL has quietly been great as the central CB. Never less than a 7 out of 10 performance, which is what you want from your defenders. If they are putting in 9 out of 10 performances then as a team you’ve not played well and been under the cosh. Less than a 7 out of 10 for a defender tend to mean they’ve made mistakes that have lead to goals being conceded.
Martinez has been excellent on the ball, and good off of it. Once or twice he’s been out of position which has caused issues, but given he is still playing his way back from a long time out injured. While doing so in a completely new set up which the team is learning I think that’s forgivable for now. The issue here is a lack of back up/ cover. He hasn’t been fully fit and available to play every minute this season, and I think he’ll need to have his game time managed to avoid picking up more injuries and niggles. Having someone who can cover for him will be essential. Probably a position we should be looking to add someone into the squad next summer.
Shaw if fit could be a decent back up option for Martinez at LCB. I don’t think Shaw suits the LWB role under Amorim. The physical demands and the intensity Amorim wants from players in that position will just destroy what is left of Shaw’s body. The issue is that Shaw just cannot be relied upon to stay fit. If there is an option to move him on the club needs to do so.
Dalot and Malacia I think are fine as back up wingbacks, more defensive options for when we might need them. I’m not sure they have the quality and skillset that Amorim wants from his wingbacks. I wouldn’t be looking to sell them, but I’d also have to consider any good offers made for them.
Maguire, Evans, and Lindelof will leave in the summer I’d imagine. None will likely or should have their contracts extended.
We absolutely need to bring in a top quality LWB, they should be a player who can cover ground, is better in attack than defensive (but not a defensive liability), just someone who looks to drive forward and can be reliably creative. We also need a back up LCB who can challenge Martinez, ideally someone between the ages of 18-23. Someone who can grow into being first choice and eventually take over from Martinez. We might also need to consider a RWB, definitely if Dalot leaves, but if Amad isn’t going to play there long term then we need a first choice option.
In midfield Ugarte is growing every game and looks like the initial view that he’d be a key player under Amorim was spot on. Bruno has shown that he can play there against weaker opponents, but maybe not against the top sides. Eriksen has shown he doesn’t have the legs for this role under Amorim. While Casemiro has shown he isn’t completely over the hill yet, but is clearly not a long term solution. I’d have liked to see Collyer be given some minutes as he’s the right profile of midfielder that Amorim has used. Yet I’m sure the manager has his reasons for not playing him yet. Finally we have Mainoo who unfortunately hasn’t been able to play much yet, but is almost certainly going to be a key player under the new manager. That leaves us a little light in midfield. Ideally I’d like to see us bring in a couple of options here, one as back up for Ugarte and a progressive midfielder with a bit more experience who can take the pressure off of Mainoo and allow him to the space and time to develop and grow.
Maybe one of Collyer or Sekou Kone come up from the academy to be back up to Ugarte. Which means the real priority should be finding a progressive midfielder whose probably in their mid-twenties to take the pressure off of Mainoo.
Finally I’ll lump all of the attacking players together as I think there are a lot of crossover. For example I think Rashford will be seen more as a central striker under Amorim, while Zirkzee will be more of an attacking midfielder.
The central striker position is potentially the trickiest to solve. As a team we are lacking in goals, and the easiest solution would be to just buy a top level goalscorer. Yet these players are rare and very expensive. And unless they are coming from an EPL club there is no guarantee that they will score as many in England as they are currently scoring elsewhere. To add to this we currently have Højlund who looks like the ideal CF for Amorim, but he just needs time to develop. Would he get that time if we bought a 100m 25 year old CF? Probably not.
I think that it might be best to not go chasing an expensive striker this summer. We should reinforce the team elsewhere and focus on creating higher quality chances. It’s unlikely we’ll find a buyer for Rashford, so we might just need to stick with Rashford and Højlund for next season and hope that Amorim can improve them and help them develop. While is the team starts playing better overall and creating more high quality chances then hopefully these guys can start to score more. It should be noted that under Amorim Højlund, Rashford and Zirkzee have all scored 2-3 goals each in 4 games. So there is hope that if we continue to improve and create those high quality chances then the current guys should be scoring more regularly.
We also have the young Chido Obi-Martin in the academy who might be ready for some game time in the first team next season as well.
Which leaves us with the attacking midfield/ inside forwards positions that Amorim uses. In his system they are more like No.10’s than wingers, but need to be mobile and work hard off the ball. Being quick is a bonus as well.
The players he has used there so far are Bruno, Mount, Garnacho and Zirkzee. Four very different players. Bruno and Mount on paper look the most suited to it, with Zirkzee being more of a false 9, and Garnacho being more of a traditional wide player. We could also see Amad eventually move into this role as he looks like the ideal profile of player that Amorim has used in this role.
So far from what I’ve seen I’ve been a little disappointed in Mount whose been good off the ball, but average on it. Surprised by Zirkzee who looked comfortable in that role but still had a few moments where it was obviously that he is yet to fully get to grips with the EPL. Frustrated by Garnacho who has so much talent, but is still so poor with his decision making. While Bruno has looked the best of the bunch which isn’t surprising.
Given Mounts injuries, Zirkzee yet to fully adapt, Bruno’s age and Garnacho’s inexperience I think it is in this part of the pitch where we need to bring in another player.
The early assessment of Amorim’s team at United is that we are improving defensively, with a better shape. There have been a few teething issues with individual mistakes but that is to be expected. Midfield has looked more compact, but lacking a little in ball progression. Yet it has been in attack that we have still looked a dull and slow at times. We have created more high quality chances, but we aren’t creating enough of them and we are still trying to work out those consistent patterns of play in attack.
I’d be looking to bring in a top level creative No.10 player who is hard working off the ball and intelligent on it. Someone who makes good decisions.
Interestingly I think that player could be Amad and I’d like to see him given some game time in that role. If he steps up in that role then maybe we don’t sign someone for this role but bring in a top level RWB instead.
Looking at how things have gone so far then the positions/ roles I think we should be looking to strengthen over the January and summer transfer windows are:
First choice LWB.
Young LCB with a high ceiling.
A progressive midfielder with good experience between the ages of 24-26.
Then either a first choice RWB or a first choice attacking midfielder depending on which role the manager sees Amad playing long term.
I don’t see us signing more than 4 players for the first team squad next summer. I’d imagine it’ll be more about trimming the squad of those who don’t have a future and maybe then giving some of the academy lads a chance/ pathway into the first team squad.
I think given what key people at the club have said publicly about the project. It looks like we are aiming to create a younger, more physically and technically able squad who can grow together over the next couple of years into a title challenging team. Maybe similar to what we have seen at Arsenal.
Younger players like Yoro, Mainoo, Garnacho and Højlund will become key players. With others like Ugarte, Amad, MdL, Martinez, Onana, Mazraoui, Mount and Zirkzee needing to become the players who can carry the team. With older heads like Bruno, Shaw, Casemiro, Rashford and Maguire being phased out of the team/ club.
We have some excellent players in our academy, so I don’t see us signing many wonder kids (18-20 year olds) . I think we’ll try and target players between the ages of 22-26 who are ready to become key players over the next year or so.
Exciting times ahead.
Written by Shappy December 07 2024 15:51:46
