Ruben Amorim hasn’t been afraid of making hard decisions at Manchester United so far, almost to a fault, and he’s anticipating another one in the near future.
The Manchester United squad is currently decimated with injuries and forced absences due to AFCON, leaving the XI with a very unfamiliar look.
The XI that finished the 1-0 win game against Newcastle might as well have been United’s B team, such were the number of absences.
Lisandro Martinez was named captain with Bruno Fernandes injured
Do you like the decision from Ruben Amorim? Let us know what you think of his performance
However, it is giving the fringe players a chance to stake their claim for a regular starting spot, which is causing Ruben Amorim to admit that he will have a ‘really hard’ decision to make in the future.
Ruben Amorim has an Ayden Heaven call to make
While fringe players like Joshua Zirkzee have flattered to deceive, a model example of someone who took his chance with both hands is Ayden Heaven.
Injuries to Matthijs de Ligt and Harry Maguire forced Amorim to recall Heaven back from the wilderness.
Heaven had played just three minutes of league football until October, but injuries opened up a spot for him, and he hasn’t looked back since.
A surprise start against West Ham didn’t go according to plan, as he was subbed off at half-time after getting booked, but he has gone from strength to strength since then.
He capped it off with a man-of-the-match display against Newcastle, prompting Amorim to make a bold claim after the game.
He said: “I’m really pleased with Ayden. You can feel that he’s improving every game. He was not playing but he was training well. You just need to train well and be ready when the opportunity comes.
“If he continues to play like that, it’s going to be really hard to take his place.”
Wes Brown is backing Ayden Heaven! Do you share his confidence?
“I think we’ve said it every time he’s played: he’s been excellent. He’s done his job and hasn’t looked out of place in any way.”
Wes Brown
That last statement is quite a claim, because it changes things for Man Utd’s best defender this season.
Heaven vs Matthijs de Ligt is an unexpected but good headache
When Heaven was warming the bench for the first two months of the season, Matthijs de Ligt was quietly putting together a world-class run of form.
He was getting captaincy shouts and was widely recognised as the best centre-back at the club, becoming undroppable.
Up until the Crystal Palace game on November 30, he had played every minute of every league game, but what was described as a minor injury after that has snowballed, resulting in him missing every game since.
Heaven came into the team the very next game against West Ham, and as De Ligt inches closer to his return, the place is the youngster’s to lose.
Maguire’s absence has also been crucial, but he was always going to be a squad player, so the “really hard” decision Amorim will have to make about Heaven is basically him vs De Ligt.
It’s a good headache to have, but nobody expected this to even be a question when their fortunes at the start of the season trended in polar opposite directions.
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