The rise of Kobbie Mainoo may go down as Erik ten Hag’s legacy at Manchester United, but the task will now fall on Ruben Amorim to turn the Carrington graduate into a genuine modern-day superstar.
Fortunately – and this is likely to be a reason why Man United installed the Sporting Lisbon as their first-choice managerial target – Ruben Amorim has quite the reputation when it comes to developing prodigious young talents.
Of the top-ten biggest sales in Sporting Lisbon’s history, five occurred during Amorim’s four-year spell at the Estadio Jose Alvalade. And while much of the reason for that can be attributed to the rising finances of global soccer, it also speaks to Amorim’s ability to turn good players into great ones.
The 39-year-old let Matheus Nunes, Nuno Mendes and Pedro Porro loose on the Primeira Liga long before they became household names. He took Joao Palhinha with him to Lisbon from Braga.
Manchester United’s own Manuel Ugarte, meanwhile, had played only 20 games for Famalicao before linking up with Amorim.
Ugarte found himself relegated to the bench in the dying embers of the Ten Hag era – something which did little to dispel the notion that this was a player the Dutchman was not exactly keen to bring in – and should therefore be one of the big winners of Amorim’s impending arrival.
But what about the aforementioned Kobbie Mainoo? What role will Man United’s most exciting academy graduate in generations play once Amorim shifts towards the 3-4-2-1 set-up which worked wonders at Portuguese champions Sporting?
Where Kobbie Mainoo could play in Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United
Iberian publication A Bola suggest that Mainoo, who began to look a little lost as Erik ten Hag’s midfield became increasingly stretched and short-staffed, is likely to fill the ‘number eight’ role alongside the more defensively-minded Ugarte.
Amorim’s system often sees two narrow forwards/playmakers alternating behind a classic centre-forward.
Behind the front three sits a midfield duo; a ball-winner alongside more of a box-to-box operator, freed up to push forward by the presence of a dedicated ‘number six’ and three central-defenders.
At Sporting, during the 2021/22 season, Amorim would often partner the tough-tackling Joao Palhinha with the creative, ball-carrying talents of Matheus Nunes.
Now a £53 million Manchester City player, via a year at Wolverhampton Wanderers, not everybody was convinced about Nunes when Amorim installed a somewhat opinion-splitting talent into his first-team set-up.
Amorim is a coach who cares less about reputations, however, and more about profiles. Nunes possessed the ability to drive forward from deep in the way the manager demands; receiving the ball under pressure to manipulate his way out of a tight press, as well as keeping the play ticking over in the final third.
Nunes developed so rapidly that Pep Guardiola – the Manchester City boss lauded Ruben Amorim on Tuesday night – once described him as becoming one of the best midfieldrs on the planet.
And Nunes skillset will certainly sound familiar to a Manchester United fanbase au fait with Kobbie Mainoo’s best attributes.
“In midfield, Manuel Ugarte is an old acquaintance and a trustworthy man. And Amorim will need a number eight, who could be Kobbie Mainoo, in the style of Matheus Nunes,” A Bola write.
Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford could be revitalised
But while there may be an obvious place for Mainoo in Amorim’s favoured system, the role of Bruno Fernandes has sparked plenty of debate amongst those on social media.
But though Sporting operate without a classic ‘number ten’ in the pocket, that does not mean Fernandes is destined to become a tape deck in Ruben Amorim’s tesla.
Pedro Goncalves has often been referred to as Sporting’s ‘new Bruno Fernandes’. The one-time Wolves youngster stepping up after United’s captain moved to Old Trafford in 2020 a few months prior to Amorim’s arrival.
Goncalves shares many similarities with Fernandes – particularly his high-shot volume – and has blossomed into one of Europe’s most productive attacking midfielders in one of the withdrawn forward roles in that front three.
With the wing-backs holding the width, Goncalves is allowed to roam between the lines either on the left or the right. From that position, he has scored a stunning 81 goals while providing 56 assists in 187 appearances.
“It is up front, in the attacking trio, that the biggest doubts may remain,” A Bola add. “Bruno Fernandes should be the best suited to replace Pedro Goncalves, especially to put into action his powerful shot and the passes [into the penalty area].”
A narrow front-free relying upon fluid movement and direct running feels particularly well-tailored to Alejandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund. The latter, of course, being a centre-forward with many of the traits shared by Amorim’s talismanic Sporting striker Viktor Gyokeres.
Joshua Zirkzee might lack Hojlund’s thundering pace but he too should benefit from a system which will bring United’s forwards closer together.
“And Rashford? Where will the Englishman end up? With Hojlund and Zirkzee as options for the number nune position, what will Ruben do?” A Bola ask.
“The Dane is an explosive forward, the Dutchman is more of a linking player with technical refinement, and the Brit is a sprinter with a clinical finish.”
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