Ruben Amorim will have to rip it up and start again at Man Utd - but watch them go

After Erik ten Hag's £600 million outlay on new players, new United head coach Ruben Amorim will need more than one transfer window to bring in signings suited to his preferred 3-4-3 formation

Ruben Amorim won’t have the luxury of taking over a smooth-running machine at Old Trafford, unlike Arne Slot’s seamless transition at Liverpool.

Manchester United’s new head coach will have to rip it up and start again. Where Slot moved into the cockpit at Anfield, and took charge of Jurgen Klopp’s polished, efficient set-up, Amorim’s reign at Old Trafford will start from a much lower base - currently 14th in the Premier League and 21st out of 36 in the Europa League.

Nobody enjoys seeing a good man being cast aside, but the brutal truth about Erik ten Hag’s reign at United is that he spent £600 million on new players - and none of them has increased in market value. In the years since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement United’s recruitment has, frankly, been a shambles.

And for Amorim to build a team in his preferred 3-4-3 shape, he will have to be given a major influence on new signings to fit his philosophy and footballing culture. Where would Bruno Fernandes, for example, fit into that system?

If United went out and bought a top-class striker, like Sporting Lisbon’s prolific Viktor Gyokeres, as the focal point up front, where would that leave £72 million Rasmus Hojlund? Looking at the squad Amorim has inherited, I’m not sure United have the players to fit his favoured formation.

He is taking on a lot of players signed by three or four predecessors and it will take more than one window to build a team in his own image. To be honest, a top-four finish already looks like a long shot for United this season, so their best hope of Champions League football next September may be to concentrate on winning the Europa League.

That’s also a big ask, but it’s a competition where Amorim can make an immediate impact when he starts work later this month. For years, Sporting - the club where United went shopping to land Cristiano Ronaldo - lived in the shadows of Benfica and Porto until Amorim came along. He ended their 19-year wait for the title in Portugal in 2021, and he led them to another Primeira Liga crown six months ago.

Amorim leaves Sporting top of the pile again, having won all nine of their league games, with an aggregate score of 30-2, this season. Now he is back in familiar territory - United are living in the shadows of Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool. And even Aston Villa. But if Amorim is able to transplant his exhilarating style to English football and get the recruitment right, brighter times are coming to Old Trafford.

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