Man Utd chiefs' private talks with Ruben Amorim over their summer signings exposed

Manchester United hope that Ruben Amorim will get the best out of their summer signings, including Joshua Zirkzee, Matthijs de Ligt and Manuel Ugarte – so they don't prove to be wastes of money

Ruben Amorim will have a tough task should he take over at Manchester United, given the state that Erik ten Hag has left the Red Devils in.

United currently sit 14th in the Premier League with just three wins from their first nine games – a stark contrast to the glory years under Sir Alex Ferguson spent winning title after title. After enduring brutal 3-0 losses at the hands of Liverpool and Spurs earlier in the season, the straw that broke the camel's back for Ten Hag was a 2-1 defeat to West Ham on Sunday. Less than 24 hours later, after months of speculation, the Dutchman lost his job.

It looks increasingly likely that Amorim will be named as the new boss at Old Trafford in the coming days, with his current club – Sporting CP – confirming that the Red Devils have indicated they plan to pay his €10m (£8.43m) contractual release clause.

While sources have told TEAMTalk that Amorim may wish to secure the services of three new signings from his old club Sporting – centre-back Goncalo Inacio, right-winger Marcus Edwards and star attacker Pedro Goncalves – after arriving at Old Trafford, it is reported that co-owners INEOS have made it clear during talks that they want him to get the best out of the current expensively-assembled squad – including Ten Hag's struggling summer signings.

Improving those players – new and old – within the camp is seen as essential, and Amorim is said to be in full agreement with the club over this. He is reportedly convinced he can help turn the team’s form around without having to dip into the transfer market.

United spent big in the summer transfer window with hopes of bolstering their squad and bettering their record-low eighth-place finish in the 2023/24 Premier League campaign. First brought in was forward Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna for £36.5million in July after United had been impressed by the 23-year-old's 14 goals and nine assists in just 58 appearances for the Serie A side.

While Zirkzee had a dream debut for the club, scoring a late winner in their 1-0 Premier League win over Fulham, his form has majorly dipped since. As it stands, Zirkzee has played 13 games across all competitions for the Red Devils but has failed to score since the league opener in August.

Shortly after welcoming Zirkzee, United also secured the services of centre-half Leny Yoro from Lille for £52million – however, the 18-year-old talent's tenure at Old Trafford has been far from straightforward. Yoro, who was firmly on Real Madrid's radar too, is yet to play a competitive game for the Red Devils after picking up an ankle injury which required surgery during a pre-season fixture with Arsenal.

The highly-rated young Frenchman is expected to be fit at the end of the month, and United's executives will be keen on seeing him hit the ground running when he is back. Ten Hag next acquired Matthijs de Ligt (£42.7m) and Noussair Mazraoui (£17.2m) in a double transfer from Bayern Munich – and while both defenders have been utilised well since arriving, United have some severe holes at the back in need of patching, as shown by their lack of clean sheets this season.

United's final bit of business in the summer transfer window came in the form of centre-defensive midfielder Manuel Ugarte, who arrived from PSG in August in a deal worth up to £50.4m including add-ons. The 23-year-old has started seven games across all competitions thus far for the Red Devils, but work may be needed to help him adapt to the English top flight.

Club legend Ruud van Nistelrooy is currently filling in as interim manager for United as they brace themselves for a flurry of tough games in the coming days. They face Leicester in the EFL Cup this evening (Wednesday) at Old Trafford before welcoming an in-form Chelsea to the North West on Sunday. It remains to be seen if Amorim will be in charge by then, given Sporting CP have a game on Friday night that could prove to be his farewell match.

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