Ruben Amorim has a lot of questions to answer ahead of Man Utd’s next game against Sunderland, and his training call-ups for this game hint at what his focus is on.
The academy has largely been ignored by Ruben Amorim this season as the number of games has dwindled, despite the senior players not getting many wins.
Amorim has an easy way to get the fans back on his side by giving some deserved minutes to a flying Man Utd academy crop.
Ahead of the game against Sunderland, Chido Obi trained with the first team, and he was joined by his prolific teammate in the academy.
Ruben Amorim calls up Chido Obi and Victor Musa
First of all, it’s worth noting that Amorim hasn’t been shy about calling up youngsters to first-team training. The problem lies in giving them an actual chance.
Still, it would have been a boost for Chido Obi to be reminded that Amorim has not forgotten about him after some senior experiences last season.
Obi is developing with the U21s after a breakout campaign last year and is doing well, earning praise from his coaches.
His first-team training call-up is not a major surprise, but Victor Musa’s is.
Musa has been prolific with the U18s; he scored 16 league goals in 19 appearances for Man Utd U18s last season, but hasn’t made a convincing step-up to U21s football.
Still, Musa has earned some lofty comparisons during his time in the academy, and it really just takes one game to fly and earn the manager’s trust.
However, more than Musa’s call-up to the first-team training, it’s the fact that Amorim called up two strikers that is more interesting.
Amorim focused on attacking play
Results under Amorim have been embarrassing, to say the least, and a major reason why is United’s anaemic ability in attack.
This season, they have scored seven league goals in six games despite splashing £220 million on a revamped attack.
The patterns are just not there, and the only way United look close to scoring is on transitions against a scrambled defence.
Amorim’s answer to the lack of goals has been to throw multiple forwards on the pitch instead of having a coherent way of attacking.
His call-up of two strikers from the academy to train with the first-team group also hints at his clear focus that he wants more goals from his team.
United rarely score, and concede even with the rare opportunity they give away due to a silly mistake. That’s a deadly combination. Amorim has clearly recognised that fixing the former is easier in the short term.
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