Man Utd: Is a renewed attack enough for Amorim’s success?

Ruben Amorim and the Challenge at Manchester United: Between Storms and Expectations

Nine months have passed since Rúben Amorim, in the media theater of Old Trafford, warned Manchester United fans about the arrival of a storm. That prediction, curiously, was one of the few things the Portuguese coach got right in a season he called a “disaster”. Despite a stumble in the Carabao Cup against Grimsby Town, Amorim has shown optimism in the first weeks of the 2025-26 campaign. However, he is still navigating turbulent waters. If last season the storm broke out on the field, this time the dark clouds threaten to gather off it. The last three United managers, Erik ten Hag, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and José Mourinho, were sacked in November or December. If Amorim manages to get through the next three or four months with positive performances and results that ease the pressure, he could lay the groundwork for aiming for European places in the new year. The alternative is that performance drops, the focus intensifies and the United board is forced into a frantic search for a fifth permanent manager in nine years.

The Market Close and Pending Questions

The United’s summer market concluded with four significant signings and nine departures from the first team. This is a significant renewal of the team that Amorim inherited when he replaced Ten Hag in November, although he feels that the club has addressed some areas, but not others. At the end of last season, the data department was tasked with analyzing why the team had so many problems, reporting that the lack of goals was the most important factor. This led Amorim, CEO Omar Berrada, and football director Jason Wilcox to focus their funds on reinforcing the attack, resulting in the arrivals of Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, and Benjamin Sesko, with a large investment.

Cunha and Mbeumo were United’s main targets. Internal sources revealed that other forwards were considered, but Sesko was chosen for his age, potential, and an attractive payment structure agreed with RB Leipzig. The goalkeeper position was considered a “secondary priority”, according to United sources, although a £21.5 million deal was finalized for Senne Lammens at the close of the market. This was possible after the departures of Alejandro Garnacho to Chelsea, Antony to Real Betis and the loan of Rasmus Hojlund to Napoli. These three departures generated around £65 million, while the loan of Jadon Sancho to Aston Villa freed up a significant wage bill. Lammens has been on United’s list of potential goalkeepers for a while. However, internal sources indicated that efforts to sign him from Royal Antwerp intensified after Altay Bayindir’s error against Arsenal on the opening day. Lammens’ arrival, however, creates a problem for Amorim. United presents the Belgian as a player with “great potential”, but not necessarily as the immediate starter. This means that the uncertainty in the goal, with André Onana and Bayindir sharing responsibilities until now, is further complicated with the inclusion of another name. On the contrary, the signing of Emiliano Martínez, as expected in the last days of the market, would have settled any debate. Amorim hopes that one of his four goalkeepers, which also includes Tom Heaton, 39, and part of the new leadership group, will quickly establish himself as the number one. Even so, he faces a big decision on who to choose for the first match after the international break, against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. The other problem with Amorim is in the center of the field. United sources insisted that signing a midfielder was never a priority this summer, but that wasn’t the feeling after Sesko’s arrival. The Slovenian was signed to complete the renewal of the offensive trio, but internal sources indicated that club directors began to explore deals for a midfielder, with options like Carlos Baleba from Brighton, João Gomes from Wolves and Angelo Stiller from Stuttgart. The decision to delay the signing of a midfielder until January at the earliest leaves the team a bit unbalanced in a crucial period for Amorim. He has Cunha, Mbeumo, Mason Mount, Bruno Fernandes, Amad Diallo and Joshua Zirkzee, all capable of playing as one of the two attacking midfielders. But as for the two defensive midfielders in his formation, he only has Casemiro, Manuel Ugarte and Kobbie Mainoo. Fernandes will occupy one of those defensive midfielder positions to free up one of the attacking positions, which means that the United captain will play in midfield alongside Ugarte, Casemiro or Mainoo. The four players have different characteristics, but they do not have the mobility to cover the enormous spaces that sometimes open up in Amorim’s 3-4-3 system. A disjointed midfield was a problem with Ten Hag and with Amorim last season. It could cause problems again.

Reasons for Optimism

An encouraging performance in the defeat against Arsenal, a good half and a bad half in the draw against Fulham, a disaster against League Two’s Grimsby Town, and a dramatic home victory over Burnley represent a very mixed start to United’s campaign. In particular, their elimination from the Carabao Cup at Blundell Park, and Amorim’s emotion-driven match assessment, generated genuine concern that last season’s problems had not been solved in the summer. But beyond the results, there are reasons for Amorim to be relatively optimistic. After three Premier League matches, United is in ninth place with four points. But it leads the table in expected goals (6.78), total shots (42), touches in the rival area (99) and balls to the post (4). It is second in number of duels won (173) and third in successful crosses from open play (12). Three games is a small sample, but United is doing many things well.

Amorim was quick to say that his team had been on the wrong side of small details in the defeat to Arsenal and the draw against Fulham, and the statistics suggest he has a point. The former Sporting CP coach is not one to be carried away, and will know more about his team in their next two matches after the international break against Manchester City on September 14 and Chelsea at Old Trafford on September 20.

What Does All This Mean for Amorim?

The 40-year-old coach is in the uncomfortable position of overseeing a team that is in full development, while also being under immediate pressure due to its poor overall record of 18 wins, nine draws and 19 losses in 46 matches. He has made it clear during the transfer market that United could not solve all their problems in a single summer and that the strengthening of other areas of the team, in particular the midfield, would have to wait. Mourinho, Solskjaer, and Ten Hag will tell him that they left Old Trafford before getting the signings to complete their respective projects. For Amorim, the danger is that the future never arrives and that he is fired before Baleba, or whoever, comes in. By signing players like Sesko (22 years old) and Lammens (23), he has gotten on board with the club’s long-term plans. But he also admitted after Fernandes’ penalty in stoppage time against Burnley that he has to live “day by day”. In the midst of the furor following the defeat against Grimsby, United’s directors insisted that they were not even close to considering the coach’s future and that he still has their full support. Amorim hopes that in the coming months his patience will not be tested and that the second storm of his short career never arrives.