Ruben Amorim has shown shades of his Sporting CP mindset with what Jason Wilcox and Ineos should be looking closer at for potential Manchester United transfers.
The 40-year-old Manchester United manager already oversaw the first major overhaul of the first-team squad that he inherited from Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford.
Ineos and Red Devils director of football Jason Wilcox showed their support for Ruben Amorim with the spending spree that United undertook in the summer.
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Amorim received a massive boost to his attacking options for the 2025-26 campaign with the signings of Benjamin Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha.
Just as the United frontline was shored up, the Red Devils bolstered their defensive set-up with the signings of wonderkid Diego Leon and shot-stopper Senne Lammens.
Amorim also benefited from the exit of several United players from Old Trafford, including Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, Antony and Jadon Sancho.
Man Utd manager Ruben Amorim has his Sporting CP mentality in the back of his mind over one key position
Ruben Amorim is likely to see further reinforcements bolster his options in the Manchester United squad after the end of the 2025-26 Premier League campaign.
United are tipped to pursue a new midfielder in the 2026 summer window, with the Red Devils expected to see Casemiro leave the Premier League club next June.
However, Amorim has hinted at his desire to strengthen his wing-backs and showed shades of his Sporting CP philosophy before walking slightly back on his comments.
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When asked what he demands from a wing-back compared with a traditional winger, he told Stadium Astro: “It’s sometimes, it’s defending like a full-back, attacking as a winger.
“So, you need to be really complete and then it depends [on] the team. I’m always saying that to my players.
“You don’t play as a full-back, you play as a winger. If we have the ball, you are a winger. So don’t lose the ball. So, it’s a choice that they have to make as a team.”
Amorim then suggested that he would like to see wingers at Old Trafford in the future, so that they could be modified into wing-backs for his tactical system.
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“I think in the future [it] is going to be two wingers,” he continued.
“I don’t know. But sometimes you want more full-back characteristics there, even to receive the ball more down in the build-up.”
Ruben Amorim’s remarks show why Amad Diallo has been a perfect fit for his Sporting CP-esque approach at Man Utd
Amad Diallo’s role under Ruben Amorim has seen him experience a shift from playing as an out-and-out winger to a wing-back in United’s tactical system.
The 23-year-old Ivorian has struggled defensively, but Amad Diallo has linked up superbly well with Bryan Mbeumo on the right flank in the current season.
Amorim has been no stranger to tinkering with wingers and converting them into full-backs, something he effectively did with Sporting CP talent Geovany Quenda.
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Both Geovany Quenda and Amad are examples of why former Sporting CP head coach Amorim prefers to have winger mindsets for wing-back roles in his team.
“Sometimes you want the [wing-back] to push the team forward as a winger in the final line of the opponent,” Amorim continued.
“So, it’s something that you can manipulate when you study the opposition.”
Ineos and Jason Wilcox have been able to peek behind the curtain of Amorim’s Sporting mindset and what defines the ‘perfect’ wing-back in his eyes.
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