What are Ruben Amorim’s immediate priorities?

The red half of Manchester is abuzz with the arrival of Ruben Amorim. Touted as one of the best young coaches in the game, the Portuguese arrives at Old Trafford carrying a huge weight of expectation. 

His ultimate aim is to restore United to their rightful place at the top of the table, but that will take time, and the focus from now until the end of the season will be to inject consistency into the club’s results and bag a Champions League spot. 

As with any new manager, things will change. A new style will be introduced, and whilst the team will hopefully benefit from a new manager bounce, there will be teething problems along the way. With much to sort, here is a list of Amorim’s most immediate priorities. 

Pick up early points 

The one thing that Amorim will need is time. Time to instil his methods, his playing style and his culture. Whilst the Utd faithful will stick by their new man, a good start will certainly help. 

With the Premier League being so tightly packed, a couple of wins will propel the Red Devils right up the table and with his first couple of games being against Ipswich and Everton, all of the major soccer betting sites will have United positioned as the firm favourites. 

Amorim’s first real test will come against Arsenal. Due to take place at the Emirates in early December, that will be Utd’s third game in a week and will provide a good litmus test as to where Utd under Amorim rank against the Premier League’s elite. 

Despite United’s rocky start to the season there is so much optimism surrounding Amorim’s appointment. There is a feeling that this season could still be hugely successful but United will want to get off to a hot start and get some early wins to capitalise on all of this positive momentum. 

Implement his formation and tactics 

The one thing that Amorim will certainly bring to Old Trafford is clear vision on how he wants his team to play and the tactics he wants to employ. 

Like most young managers of the time, Amorim insists on a strong pressing effort from off the front. Alongside that, he looks to keep a solid defensive base and he has the ability to switch things up if needed and hit teams with lightning speed on the counter. This was no more evident than when his Sporting Lisbon side thrashed Man City 4-1, despite only seeing 27% of the ball. 

It’s highly likely that Amorim will employ a defence that has three defenders at the back, with this back three flanked by two wing backs. From there it’s likely that he will fill his midfield with two enforcers before leaving three up top. 

From a glance it looks like Amorim will have the personnel to make his defensive unit of five work, but the puzzle upfront remains a bit more unclear. With an urge and need to press from off the front, whether Marcus Rashford offers that energy will be something to watch with interest.

From a midfield point of view, Amorim was able to get the best out of Manuel Ugarte when the Uruguayan was under his charge at Sporting and he could be a key cog in the Amorim machine moving forward. 

It’s likely that Bruno Fernandes will remain a crucial centrepiece but where the likes of Casemiro, Christian Eriksen and Kobbie Mainoo fit into Amorim’s new system is still a little unclear. 

With plenty to ponder, it will be fascinating to see how both Amorim and his new team adjust to this new way of playing. 

Look to reinforce in January 

Amorim’s arrival in Manchester is just a month or so out from the start of the January transfer window and it will be interesting to see how aggressive United are. 

January has long been regarded as a difficult window. It is highly likely that the players Utd will want to bring in are key members of their current teams, and clubs are often unwilling to sell midway through the season. 

What is clear, is that some of Utd’s current players won’t fit Amorim’s playing style. This January, rather than focus on who might be coming in, the Portuguese might want to free up funds for a big summer and get rid of some players that he deems surplus to requirements. 

There was a feeling that under Erik Ten Hag, United’s transfer dealings were random, with little consideration for how players could fit into United’s tactics and formations. This will have to change in this brave new era. 

Amorim has already ruled out making signings from his former club in January, but expect that stance to change in the summer.