It’s clear that ‘fantastic’ 18-year-old is perfect solution to Ruben Amorim’s £48m problem – he’s having a breakout season

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Manchester United’s squad is yet to be perfect for Ruben Amorim and 2025 could see plenty of changes.

On and off the field Manchester United needs serious change in 2025. With Ruben Amorim laying the groundwork in his opening month as boss, now the challenge is to kick on and start picking up crucial wins.

After a 3-0 loss at the hands of Bournemouth, Ineos will know that appointing an excellent manager is not enough and transfer additions are also going to be required.

One position of weakness is the centre-back roles – with a lack of quality depth cursing Amorim thus far.

This is despite two additions in the summer. But with Victor Lindelof likely to leave, along with both Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans being in the final six months of their contracts, signing new quality options could solve plenty of problems for Amorim.

• READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Man Utd’s head coach – Ruben Amorim

Manchester United can solve Lisandro Martinez problem

So far in Amorim’s reign, the left side of the team will have been identified as a priority. A left wing-back is an area Amorim must improve, while the left No.10 likely also needs an addition.

However, a less spoken-about weakness is the left-sided central defender role which Lisandro Martinez has occupied to date.

The £48m Argentine is the only option for this role at the club, with a lack of left-footers and Luke Shaw suffering from an endless string of injuries.

Therefore, as Martinez struggles to find form in Amorim’s system, he needs competition and it could be 18-year-old Jorrel Hato who provides United with exactly that.

• READ MORE: Who is Lisandro Martinez? Step inside the life of Manchester United’s tenacious Argentine

Jorell Hato is perfect for Ruben Amorim

So with an additional defender surely on the cards in 2025, we think one Ajax talent is the clear front-runner.

Hato is an elite talent and appears destined to be a world-leading defender in the coming years, but is already having a breakout season for Ajax.

This left-footed defender is capable of playing left-back and on the left of a centre-back situation which could make him ideal to play in the Martinez role, being a ball-playing defender.

Hato Eredivise stats 2024/25

The teenager may bring fans bad memories of previous Ajax deals, but Hato is the real deal, with Jordan Henderson lauding him upon his arrival at the Dutch giants.

“It’s crazy how young he is, but obviously how mature he looks when he’s on the pitch and also off the pitch,” Henderson said as per Football London. “He’s a very mature person, works hard, fantastic player, and yeah, he has a bright future ahead of him, I’m sure. I think he just needs to continue to do what he’s he’s been doing.”

As a defender, Hato is actually similar to Amorim’s Sporting Lisbon pair Eduardo Quaresma and Goncalo Ignacio according to FBRef, which fills us with confidence he would thrive under the head coach.

The one downside is that Hato would be an expensive deal, considering he signed a new deal in the summer and therefore would not come cheap.