Ruben Amorim has admitted that he understands why the likes of Kobbie Mainoo and Joshua Zirkzee might want to leave Manchester United when the January transfer window opens, but insisted he will always put the direct needs of the club first.
After a breakout season under Erik ten Hag culminated in an FA Cup final goal and a key role in England’s journey to the Euro 2024 final, Mainoo hasn’t had the same impact with Amorim.
The home-grown midfielder was injured for crucial chunk of last season and his eight appearances so far in 2025–26 have amounted to only 228 minutes—he is yet to start in the Premier League. Zirkzee has played even less football—just 90 minutes across four appearances—and both players are vulnerable to missing out on next summer’s World Cup as a result.
Neither player is established enough with their respective national team to warrant selection under current circumstance and both have not been selected within the last 12 months.
When it comes to that frustration and the idea that Mainoo or Zirkzee could be interested in a January move to give themselves a fighting chance of going to the World Cup, Amorim empathised. However, retaining squad depth for Manchester United is most important.
“The first thing is that the club comes first,” he told reporters in the buildup to Monday night’s Premier League clash with Everton.
“We have to think about the club and the team, and [only] then everything can happen. I was a football player, I understand everything, and I want to help my players in every situation.
“I don’t know what is going to happen. I want my players happy. I understand the frustration of some players, seeing that the World Cup is there, and I know what it means, but Manchester United comes first. If I can help the club and the players, I will be happy, if not I have to think about the team.”
Amorim Sends Message to ‘Struggling’ Manuel Ugarte
Manuel Ugarte isn’t in the same boat in the sense that his place with Uruguay at the World Cup is relatively safe already, but the midfielder is still failing to command regular club minutes.
Amorim’s preference for a resurgent Casemiro alongside Bruno Fernandes in a two-man midfield has limited Ugarte to just two Premier League starts—none since the end of September. It’s a disappointing turn of events given that a reunion with Amorim after previously excelling under the coach at Sporting CP hasn’t had the positive upturn many had hoped to see.
“You can sense that a lot of very good players come here, and sometimes they struggle, and they are struggling, he is struggling in the moment,” the United boss said of Ugarte, stressing that he needs to see more from the £50.7 million ($66.5 million) signing in training.
“It is our job to try to help our players, and again, everything can change, and you saw it five weeks ago, the environment [in the club] was completely different.
“I know that Ugarte is struggling in the moment, and my job is trying to help him to feel as a player, like I felt when he was a Sporting player, for example, but it is a different world, and he needs to adapt, and he needs to improve, especially in training.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘I Understand’—Ruben Amorim Rules on January Transfer Business for Man Utd.
