When looking back through Manchester United’s recent transfer activity, did the work done by Jason Wilcox and Christopher Vivell offer a clue as to Ruben Amorim’s eventual Old Trafford arrival?
Of course, the signing of Manuel Ugarte from Paris Saint-Germain is a deal which simply leaps off the page with the benefit of hindsight.
It was Ruben Amorim, after all, who turned Ugarte into one of Europe’s most effective defensive midfielders.
It is no secret, meanwhile, that Erik ten Hag was not exactly on board with the Uruguayan’s £42 million arrival. Tellingly, Ugarte played only two out of a potential 270 Premier League minutes before the Dutchman’s dismissal on Monday.
But, beyond Ugarte, many of the other deals Manchester United pursued during the first summer of the Ineos era also hinted at, if not specifically the arrival of Amorim, then certainly a shift towards a new tactical set-up under a coach who operates a wing-back system.
Ruben Amorim makes Jeremie Frimpong a likely Manchester United target
Sporting have played with a three-man central defence in every one of Amorim’s games since he was hired back in 2020. Is that why Man United signed both Leny Yoro and Matthijs de Ligt, while retaining the services of Harry Maguire?
Is this why United looked at left-backs more renowned for their attacking talents than their defensive acumen. Marcos Alonso, Milos Kerkez and Rayan Ait-Nouri were all linked, while Bayern Munich flyer Alphonso Davies is a current target for the Premier League giants.
United also opted to cash in on Aaron Wan-Bissaka. An excellent one-v-one defender but a footballer who would have been a round peg in a square hole in Amorim’s set-up. Noussair Mazraoui, while more used to life in a four than a three, certainly feels better suited to ‘Amorim-ball’ than Wan-Bissaka.
If Bayern contract-rebel Davies is emerging as potentially United’s leading left-back target for 2025, meanwhile, then do not be surprised to see another Bundesliga speed-machine become a man in demand at Old Trafford again soon enough.
Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong always felt like a rather odd addition to an Erik ten Hag-run team. But under Amorim, the former Manchester City starlet would fit like a glove.
“I don’t think you could just put Frimpong in at right-back for [Ten Hag’s] Man United and expect him to do the same thing,” Bundesliga expert Stefan Bienkowski told the Gegenpressing football podcast, Frimpong a bonafide wing-back with ‘world-class’ talents to quote Leverkusen director Simon Rolfes.
“[Leverkusen have] a tailor-made system with tailor-made players,” Bienkowski adds. “[Frimpong and Alex Grimaldo] are not full-backs. They are wing-backs or – at the very least – full-blown wingers.”
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Gary Neville expects United to benefit from Amorim’s changes
The jet-heeled Frimpong scored 14 goals and assisted 12 more as Leverkusen cruised to both the league title and the German cup under Xabi Alonso in 2023/24. In contrast, across 190 Manchester United appearances, Wan-Bissaka scored only twice while setting up 13 goals for his Red Devils teammates.
And with that £33 million release clause still valid from next year, per Sky Germany, a Ruben Amorim-led Manchester United side suddenly feels like a very suitable destination given the importance of flying wing-backs to the two-time Portuguese league winner.
To think, Gary Neville already feels this is a Man United squad ripe for a switch to three at the back.
“I’ve got the answer,” Neville said earlier in October. “I can’t understand why he [Erik ten Hag] has not gone to three at the back.
“There’s six [centre-backs] there. There’s Yoro, [Victor] Lindelof, Maguire, [Lisandro] Martinez, De Ligt and Jonny Evans.
“My view is that, if you look at Martinez, he’s perfect for a left centre-back in a three. Harry has played in a three many, many times in his career. De Ligt is someone who I think needs other people around him.
“I said at the start of the season, if ever there was a team that looked like [would suit a back three, it is Man United].”
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