Ruben Amorim vs the Manchester United academy has become an unexpected and unwanted talking point this season, but a tweak vs Bournemouth means it might be put to rest soon.
What started as a lack of opportunities for the youngsters due to no European football has snowballed into something much more cynical.
Ruben Amorim has called out Chido Obi, Harry Amass, and Toby Collyer for their lack of impact on loan, while also doubling down on his Kobbie Mainoo stance.
Who was your Man Utd man of the match vs Bournemouth?
What a game! Now vote for your star man ⭐
What Man Utd fans need right now is some assurance that the soul of the club, which resides in Carrington, is not being stripped away. That assurance could be coming.
Ruben Amorim’s interesting tweak vs Bournemouth
It was reported in the buildup to the game against Bournemouth that Amorim was trialling a back-four in training, but what happened during the game wasn’t as straightforward.
United could be seen in multiple shapes throughout the game, with a 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1, 3-4-3, and a 4-4-2 clearly visible at different points in the game.
Amorim said after the game that the formation doesn’t matter as long as the principles remain the same, but a tactical tweak of his said something else.
Most of the formations above were out of possession, but with the ball, Amorim focused on absolving Amad of his defensive responsibilities by creating a lopsided wing-back system.
Leny Yoro, who was the right-sided centre-back in a back three, pushed out wide to function as a false right-back, while Dalot curbed his runs to tuck in, making a flat back four of Dalot-Shaw-Heaven-Yoro.
Ruben Amorim FINALLY unleashed Amad as a right-winger vs Bournemouth!
Is this in preparation for Shea Lacey's coming into Man Utd's first-team?
What this did was turn Amad from a wing-back to a winger, a role he flourished in, even capitalising on Dalot’s cross to score United’s first.
Bournemouth eventually made adjustments and fortified their own setup to counter it, but this lopsided wing-back system that converts one wing-back into a full-back and another into a winger bodes well for an academy product.
Amorim could be shaping the team to unleash Shea Lacey
A major reason why Amorim felt comfortable fielding Amad as a wing-back is because of his tireless work rate and positional sense, something he won’t expect from Shea Lacey.
It’s why Lacey was always thought of as an option to play as one of the two No. 10 positions, likely the right-sided one, because of his left-footedness.
However, the conundrum was that Lacey’s game is closer to Amad’s than it is to Bryan Mbeumo, who is more direct and explosive.
For Lacey to replace Amad, the wing-back position needed to disappear, and that is exactly what happened in shades vs Bournemouth.
Amorim will feel much more comfortable playing Lacey on the right if the wide centre-back pushes wide, making Lacey effectively a traditional inside forward instead of a wing-back.
He can then field Bruno Fernandes and Mason Mount on that side to cover for Lacey’s lack of experience, making use of Lacey’s talents on the ball to unlock defences, while keeping his defensive setup fortified.
Lacey was always expected to play a bigger role once Amad and Mbeumo depart for AFCON, but it’s quickly becoming clear why he hasn’t played until now.
He was supposed to play in a different system and replace Amad instead of being a like-for-like replacement at No. 10 for Mbeumo.
The game against Aston Villa just became a lot more interesting.
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