Rúben Amorim has emerged as the favorite to take over as Manchester United's manager following the dismissal of Erik ten Hag.
The 39-year-old Amorim has seen his stock grow across Europe after four successful seasons in Portugal managing Sporting Lisbon. Before Liverpool appointed Arne Slot as Jürgen Klopp's replacement, there was talk that Amorim was a candidate. With the news that Sporting's soccer director Hugo Viana could slide into Txiki Begiristain's role at Manchester City come season's end, rumors circulated that Amorim could eventually replace Pep Guardiola.
However, the red side of Manchester now seems like the most likely destination for the coveted Portuguese manager, with news that the Red Devils are prepared to exercise his release clause to bring him to Old Trafford as soon as possible.
Amorim favors a 3-4-3 formation that encourages possession based soccer, building from the back and utilizing the length and width of the pitch. Sporting are also one of the highest pressing teams in Portugal, always trying to set traps to recover the ball as high up the pitch as possible. Defensively, the shape can change into a more compact 5-2-3 or even a 5-4-1.
It will be interesting to see if Amorim's approach changes if he does end up at Old Trafford. If it doesn't, then here's how Manchester United could lineup under Amorim—only taking healthy players into consideration.
Manchester United Possible Lineup Under Ruben Amorim (3-4-3)
GK: André Onana—Onana's shown that he's a capable ball-playing goalkeeper since his Inter Milan days, which is something necessary for Amorim's build-up style to succeed.
LCB: Lisandro Martínez—His solid technical ability compounded with him being left-footed make his selection a no-brainer. The 2022 world champion could be one of the players who benefits most if Amorim does arrive.
CB: Matthijs De Ligt—The Ajax academy product is technically solid. While at Bayern Munich, he got experience playing in a back-three under Thomas Tuchel.
RCB: Victor Lindelöf—Lindelöf makes the XI purely out of necessity as United continues to struggle with the health of its defenders. His place in the lineup will be taken over by Harry Maguire or Leny Yoro once they're fully fit.
RWB: Noussair Mazraoui—It's probably fair to say that the days of the Moroccan playing as a No. 10 are a thing of the past. He's less adventurous going forward and is right-footed, but Mazraoui is technically sound and can cover ground. He's also healthy, which can't be said for Luke Shaw who could likely take this spot.
CM: Manuel Ugarte—The Uruguay international will be happy to reunite with the manager with which he played the best soccer of his career. Ugarte was fantastic at Sporting Lisbon and PSG quickly came knocking, but he's failed to find that form since.
CM: Christian Eriksen—The most technically gifted and intelligent midfielder currently in the squad. With Ugarte charged with the dirty work, Eriksen will be responsible for linking up with the forwards and wing-backs. Kobbie Mainoo will take over the role once he's healthy.
LWB: Diogo Dalot—Dalot would benefit from his countryman's arrival to United's bench since he prefers attacking minded wing-backs rather than defensive specialists.
AM: Bruno Fernandes—The captain isn't perfectly suited for this system but it's hard to envision him not being in the XI. He could play the Pedro Gonçalves's role at Sporting, as he usually drifts centrally to allow the wing-backs to provide the width.
AM: Alejandro Garnacho—Garnacho has looked better playing on the right than on the left throughout his career. Although he's more of a traditional winger, he's been arguably United's most consistent player this year and his potential could be very appealing for Amorim.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as What Ruben Amorim's Manchester United Lineup Could Look Like.
