A new manager usually means a new start. And that means life could change pretty rapidly for a few Manchester United players under the watchful eye of Ruben Amorim.
Will Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui adapt to a new-look, wing-back system?
What sort of a role will Kobbie Mainoo have? One of the deeper-lying midfielders alongside Manuel Ugarte, or as a roving number ten in a narrow front three?
Though one player who could be in line for a key role in the Ruben Amorim era, according to one Portuguese football expert who knows Manchester United’s new boss better than most, is Harry Maguire.
Sergio Krithinas, the executive director of the Record newspaper, can see Maguire blossoming at the heart of Amorim’s three-man backline a la the similarly experienced – and similarly maligned – Sebastian Coetes at Sporting.
Harry Maguire tipped to shine for Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United
“Harry Maguire is a good example [of players who could thrive under Amorim],” Krithinas says on The Transfers Podcast. “Because, at Sporting, he had Sebastian Coates.
“He’s a very tall centre-back, he has a physical profile not very different to Harry Maguire. And he was the captain for Amorim, a crucial player for how he was playing. Not a very fast defender but he was really, really intelligent with his positioning.
“The way he led the team, defining the offside line, the kind of player who would not be under pressure with the ball.”
Sporting hammered Manchester City 4-1 in the Champions League this month. And while much of the post-match discussion surrounded hat-trick hero Viktor Gyokeres, Krithinas highlights the role his centre-halves played in manoeuvring Pep Guardiola’s side.
The man in the centre of Amorim’s back three – the role Maguire is arguably most suited to – is usually the one tasked with baiting the press and breaking the lines from the back.
“Sometimes, when Sporting plays at home, they will meet opponents who are defending really low. A centre-back has the ball and he needs to attract the pressure from the opponent,” Krithinas explains.
“We saw that against Man City. So I think maybe Harry Maguire – if he understands the game Amorim wants – could be that man. He has some qualities Amorim also saw in Coates.”
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New roles possible for Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes
While many have assumed that Rasmus Hojlund will play the Gyokeres role under Amorim, could Marcus Rashford instead be the Man United forward to the benefit the most from a change in the dugout?
Reports have indicated that Amorim could trial Rashford as a number nine initially, using the England international’s searing pace on the shoulder of the last defender in a manner reminiscent of the rampaging Gyokeres in Lisbon.
Krithinas can see Rashford – who has only one Premier League goal this season – jump-starting his campaign in a new position.
If Rashford lines up as a centre-forward, meanwhile, this could open the door for Bruno Fernandes to slot into the left-sided number ten role in the manner of Amorim’s prolific Sporting playmaker Pedro ‘Pote’ Goncalves.
Amorim would not rule out signing the ‘new Bruno Fernandes’ for Man United when asked about Pote last weekend. But, lest we forget, he has the original at his disposal already.
“A player like Marcus Rashford, I’m curious also to see,” Krithinas wonders. “Rashford can be a very vertical player. If Amorim gets into his mind, he could be a player that could develop or restart his career.
“I’m curious to see where he is going to start Bruno Fernandes, if Bruno will be one of the two midfielders or whether he will play as a left-winger like with Pedro Goncalves at Sporting.
“Pedro Goncalves was also a midfielder, a number eight, and at Sporting he gradually became a left-winger. I can imagine Bruno Fernandes playing as one of the three guys up front, from the left, while using his aggressiveness to defend from the front.”
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