Manchester United are gearing up for the Ruben Amorim era and that could mean a change of formation at Old Trafford.
Manchester United have confirmed the appointment of Ruben Amorim having lured him away from Portuguese side Sporting.
Amorim has not yet arrived though as he will oversee two more games with Sporting this week before joining United.
United sacked Erik ten Hag just last week but the attention is already turning to the Amorim era.
Amorim will make his United bow against Ipswich Town following the international break and fans are already looking forward to his first team selection.
Jamie Carragher offers Ruben Amorim advice
Amorim has almost exclusively played with a 3-4-3 system at Sporting, helping him win two league titles in the process.
The assumption is that Amorim will bring a similar system to United, but that means an enormous change of approach.
Ten Hag almost always played with a 4-2-3-1, so United players could be in for a major shift if Amorim does stick to his tactical ideas.
Pundit Jamie Carragher has now offered his view on Amorim’s approach at United whilst speaking to Sky Sports.
Carragher believes that moving to a back three would really suit Lisandro Martinez, suggesting that he could work well as a left-sided defender.
However, Carragher thinks that Amorim simply cannot afford to play Matthijs de Ligt or Harry Maguire in the right-sided centre back role.
Carragher fears that they are too slow to cope with being dragged out wide and feels there is simply no way Amorim should pick De Ligt and Maguire together.
“I can’t see De Ligt or Maguire being in the wide position, they can’t – they would not be able to cope,” said Carragher.
“I don’t think De Ligt and Maguire could play in the same back three because whoever was in the wide position would get really exposed,” he added.
United centre backs – and how much they cost
United have invested big money at centre back over the years and the current crop doesn’t even factor in the money previously spent on the likes of Eric Bailly and Raphael Varane.
Around £250million has been splashed on De Ligt, Maguire, Martinez, Leny Yoro and Victor Lindelof whilst Jonny Evans returned on a free transfer.
| Player | Fees |
| Harry Maguire | £80 million |
| Leny Yoro | £52.2m (Rising to £58.9million) |
| Lisandro Martinez | £48 million (Rising to £56.7 million) |
| Matthis de Ligt | £38.5m (Rising to £42.8 million) |
| Victor Lindelof | £30.7m million (Rising to £39.5 million) |
| Jonny Evans | Free |
Amorim must now figure out how to put these defenders together in a cohesive defensive unit, whether that’s with a back three or back four.
We would agree with Carragher here; De Ligt and Maguire aren’t really cut out for the wide role, and that may actually favour youngster Yoro a little more.
The problem is that De Ligt, Maguire, Lindelof and Evans would probably all suit playing in the middle rather than on the right, meaning United’s defensive depth isn’t exactly ideal for building a back three.
That is something Amorim must consider as the new United boss weighs up whether to stick to what he knows or try something different.
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