Ruben Amorim is desperate for solutions to fix the mess at Manchester United right now, and Ian Wright has just given him one straight out of left field.
The list of problems at Man Utd is plenty. Some are fixable immediately, but Ruben Amorim seemingly doesn’t want to, and others are beyond his control.
A new midfielder, for example, could have been prioritised in the summer but wasn’t, so Amorim’s hands are tied to an extent.
However, playing Bruno Fernandes there is a problem entirely of his own making. In a similar vein, Ian Wright has suggested that Amorim can solve one problem by playing a player who hasn’t appeared for 972 days.
Ian Wright suggests Ruben Amorim should play Tom Heaton
Fernandes is a fixable problem, but Amorim can at least argue, regardless of how shaky the argument is, that the captain is too important.
A problem that has an immediate solution and no viable argument from Amorim is between the goal.
Despite signing Senne Lammens on deadline day, Amorim has continued to hand chances to Altay Bayindir despite him obviously not being up to the mark.
Bayindir was poor against Brentford to nobody’s surprise, and clearly shouldn’t be a part of the club’s long-term planning.
Wright, exasperated by this state of affairs, has told Amorim to at least give Tom Heaton a chance if he’s shy about Lammens’ lack of experience.
He said (via Premier League Productions Weekend Wrap broadcast): “We have seen no change, no improvement, no improvement from any player.
“The goalkeeping situation, why don’t they give Tom Heaton a go? Whatever is going on, the Man Utd players aren’t getting it, they’re easy to beat, and if you stay solid, you can play through them.”
Shay Given baffled by Senne Lammens’ situation
On the same show, former goalkeeper Shay Given echoed a similar sentiment to Wright, but, unlike Wright, he wasn’t willing to let go of Lammens’ situation.
Lammens is highly rated and is coming off a season that was statistically historically impressive. Given said he’s baffled as to why he’s still not being given a chance.
He said: “The goalkeeper situation has not been addressed, they’ve signed that goalkeeper from Belgium and put him on the bench, I don’t understand that one. Bayindir is not up to standard, and Onana has gone off now, so that’s a real key position that he hasn’t fixed.”
Given’s thoughts will probably be backed up by most Man Utd fans, considering Bayindir hasn’t shown anything to prove he’s worth persisting with.
Even if Lammens makes mistakes, fans will be able to live with it in the knowledge that it’s a learning curve and he’ll be better for it in the future.
As it stands, the goalkeeping situation is going nowhere. Perhaps it sums up Man Utd as a club, too.
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