Ruben Amorim has brought his 3-4-3 system to Manchester United and some signings will be needed to maximise its potential.
Manchester United started the Ruben Amorim era in somewhat inauspicious fashion on Sunday afternoon.
Marcus Rashford scored early but United just couldn’t kick on from there and only managed a 1-1 draw.
Amorim knows that United must improve moving forward but players had just a few days to being learning Amorim’s 3-4-3 setup.
Erik ten Hag never really played with a back three at United, so this was something new for some players.
The start to this new system was perhaps a little clunky but United will surely look to the market to give Amorim the specialist players he needs.
PSG star now unlikely to join Manchester United
A left wing back is surely a priority moving forward.
Luke Shaw came off the bench but as a left-sided centre back rather than as a left wing back.
Diogo Dalot played in that role on the left side but is a natural right-footer, meaning a left-footed option will surely be targeted.
Reports over the weekend suggested that United have targeted Paris Saint-Germain’s Nuno Mendes.
Mendes has praised Amorim having played under him at Sporting and a reunion at United would make some sense in terms of him being a player who knows exactly how to play Amorim’s system.
However, Fabrizio Romano now reports that Mendes is on the verge of signing a new contract with PSG.
Mendes has just over 18 months left to run on his current contract in the French capital and United may have sensed an opportunity to strike.
Romano claims that PSG are now ‘closing in’ on an agreement to extend Mendes’ contract until the summer of 2029.
This would all but rule out any potential move to United any time soon, leaving Amorim to look at other left wing back targets moving forward.
Left wing backs linked with Manchester United
Mendes is far from the only name linked with United in that area of the pitch.
Reports claim that United want Alphonso Davies but have so far struggled to tempt the Bayern Munich star into a move.
The Canadian is out of contract next summer but a move to Old Trafford currently looks unlikely.
United have also eyed Milos Kerkez with the Bournemouth left back earning rave reviews this season.
The Hungarian continues to shine for the Cherries but a rumoured fee of around £50million could price United out.
Arguably the easiest move would be to re-sign Alvaro Fernandez from Benfica.
United have a buy-back clause on Fernandez having only sold him to Benfica earlier this year.
Fernandez has attracted Amorim’s interest though and his impressive displays in Portugal could pave the way for a return to Old Trafford.
Fernandez would certainly be cheaper than Kerkez thanks to that clause, but whether Fernandez is ready or a starring role in the Premier League is up for debate.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
