There’s a fair argument that given the overwhelming misery of the Erik ten Hag era at Manchester United, everyone’s a winner if Ruben Amorim is appointed as the Dutchman’s successor.
But, of course, that can never be the case. While Amorim has a proven track record of improving players – something no United manager has managed for a decade – some of the current squad will inevitably fall through the cracks of restructuring.
So who will be at the forefront of the brave new world at Old Trafford, and who’s off to the Saudi Pro League in January?
Winners
Marcus Rashford
Arguably the player whose career and reputation has been damaged most by Ten Hag, Rashford has everything to gain under Amorim.
The Portuguese’s 3-4-3 or 3-4-2-1 systems both depend on inside forwards, which could be perfect for Rashford if he can repair his relationship with the fans and fill the role Pedro Goncalves has so successfully for Sporting.
Since the start of Amorim’s first full season at the Lisbon club – 2020-21 – Goncalves scored 81 goals and assisted 56 more in 187 matches, having never previously managed more than seven goals in a single campaign.
While Rashford is more direct and comfortable higher up the pitch than Goncalves, there’s definitely opportunity for the winger to take on that responsibility and role.
The same could well work for Alejandro Garnacho on the opposite wing, with the pair seemingly a better fit for the creative roles than Bruno Fernandes, who we’ll get on to later.
Rasmus Hojlund
Hojlund will be watching clips of Viktor Gyokeres at Sporting and wishing with every fibre of his being that Amorim has a similar effect on his career.
His 18 goals in 51 Manchester United games is fine but ultimately uninspiring, yet the 21-year-old is so clearly a significant talent who should suit both the Premier League and Amorim’s system perfectly.
There’s even potential for this to work out well for Joshua Zirkzee given Amorim’s success with Paulinho, a similarly rounded, non-goalscoring striker who became vital to Sporting’s early success.
Manuel Ugarte
This is probably the most obvious one, given Amorim bought Ugarte at Sporting and was almost solely responsible for his two-season transformation from raw talent to the player sold to PSG for £55m.
Ugarte’s defensive abilities suit Amorim’s preferred style of midfield play almost perfectly. Him and Kobbie Mainoo could rapidly become one of the most effective midfield pairings in the Premier League – and one with huge potential longevity.
This will undoubtedly be helped by having a three-man defence behind them, allowing greater attacking freedom and ability to take risks.
Ugarte will also be key in helping Amorim implement his tactical framework as quickly as possible given his familiarity with his ideas and training methods.
Antony
It really wouldn’t be hard for Antony to enjoy life more under Amorim than he did Ten Hag.
The Brazilian has been not so much underwhelming as utterly embarrassing during his time at Old Trafford, and a move back to the Netherlands or Brazil has seemed a certainty for some time.
But there just might be a role for him under the new regime. Amorim’s tactical system is reliant on wing-backs, a position United arguably don’t have a single natural fit for.
Luke Shaw is probably the closest given his success in the role for England at Euro 2020, but another injury setback means he may not be available for some time.
This presents an opportunity for Antony to reinvent himself. While the fidget-spinner trickster approach clearly doesn’t work for him in the Premier League, he’s a rapid left-footer who’s a sharp crosser and solid one-on-one.
If he’s willing to put in the work to improve his defensive acumen, he could become one of the surprise beneficiaries of Amorim’s arrival as a makeshift left wing-back.
Losers
Bruno Fernandes
Fernandes could end up in the bizarre position of being the best player at Old Trafford, but not starting regularly due to simply not fitting how Amorim wants to play football.
This would likely not be the case even a year ago, but Fernandes isn’t just 30 – he’s 30 and has played a remarkable amount of football in the past decade. He’s featured in at least 45 matches across six of the last eight full seasons and it’s starting to manifest as declining pace and agility.
This is not good news for his chances of lining up as one of the two wide, creative attackers either side of the striker. He’s had some success in a deeper role for Portugal, but it’s difficult to say he fits this role better than Mainoo or Ugarte.
There’s a real risk that Fernandes becomes something of a tragic figure, in the wrong place at the wrong time for the second consecutive time in his career, while Amorim reaps the rewards.
Leaving Sporting in January 2020 when they had not won a league title since 2002, Fernandes missed the new boss by two months. They won the Liga Portugal the following season and have embarked upon a run of historic success.
While this seems unlikely in the short term at United, Fernandes could well fall out of favour just before the team’s trajectory finally improves, doomed to carry the burden during the bad days but never taste the benefits.
Casemiro
However bad it got under Ten Hag, there was always the sense that the Dutchman genuinely valued and rated Casemiro.
It’s hard to imagine a new manager thinking the same. Losing the Ten Hag comfort blanket, coupled with him not remotely fitting in Amorim’s double pivot and Ineos being keen to lose his £300k per week off the wage bill, will surely end with a one-way ticket to Riyadh.
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