Ruben Amorim made call with returning Man Utd star nobody expected, and he’s sticking with it

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Manchester United’s season which was hanging by a thread has been saved by the player to fight another day and Ruben Amorim’s call with one such player is unexpected.

For Ruben Amorim, the season has been all about knowing his players, from their strengths and weaknesses to what makes them tick.

He’s gotten better at the same time the team has gotten better, as evidenced by the form of Casemiro, who has come back from the fringes to become an untouchable.

However, it’s Amorim’s call with a recently returning star that wasn’t expected by anyone, and against all odds, he’s sticking with it.

Ruben Amorim’s unexpected call with Luke Shaw

When Luke Shaw returned from injury this time, it was clear that Amorim’s plans for Shaw had already gone out of the window.

Shaw’s minutes were to be slowly ramped up but then not only did he play extra-time against Lyon, but also went the full 90 against Bournemouth.

That meant he had to come off the bench vs Athletic in United’s most important fixture. However, it is what happened with Shaw in those matches that was more unexpected than the fact he played.

Shaw was struggling against Bournemouth until a simple change was made and he was shifted to left wing-back.

He rolled back the years then and his performance improvement after going to wing-back to when he was at left centre-back was night and day.

However, it was always expected to be an emergency measure against a team when United were desperate to claw one goal back.

Amorim shocked everyone by continuing with it against Athletic.

Ruben Amorim’s bold call with Luke Shaw

Shaw continued to play as a wing-back against Athletic as well, with Amorim clearly willing to risk it all in the final few matches of the season.

It is an open secret that with Shaw’s ball-progression skills, his gifts are still best used as a wing-back but his durability gave Man Utd fans a pause before making the same decision.

Amorim, who has been extremely cautious with every injured player, has clearly seen that the benefits outweigh the danger and is continuing with Shaw at wing-back.

It has been repeated countless times and remains a huge asterisk, but if Shaw can remain fit despite playing as a wing-back, it would be transformative for United’s window.

Amorim has laid out a sink-or-swim challenge to him, one that was long overdue.