Amorim pins faith in United’s youth

Amorim pins faith in United’s youth

Ruben Amorim believes Manchester United’s Academy was crucial to the club’s past and it can be just as essential to our future as well.

The Reds’ head coach held a press conference in Malaysia, ahead of Wednesday’s friendly with ASEAN All-Stars, when a sprinkling of teenagers could get the chance to perform alongside the experienced players who headed out to Kuala Lumpur at the weekend.

With the Busby Babes and Class of ’92 doing so much to fuel success in previous eras, the boss is fully aware of the history and, without putting too much pressure on any youngsters, appreciates it is an area he will look into as he moulds his squad for 2025/26.

After the disappointment of missing out on the Europa League trophy, and the reward of a Champions League place that it brings, there is a plan in place to ensure United can enjoy a much more fruitful campaign next time around.

“We always prepare two plans,” he said. “With and without the Champions League. Without the Champions League, we also don’t need a big squad.

“We can control the squad in a better way. Then we have a plan, that is to bring in some new players, but our big plan is to improve the team we have, to improve the Academy.

“It was the past, so it can be the future. It can’t change much because of Financial Fair Play, we are not allowed to do much, even with the Champions League, so we are prepared. It’s important to stick together. We are going to struggle, it’s not going to be everything right away, but I can see the team improving and that’s the most important thing.”

Amorim does have his concerns about the spotlight and social-media glare shone brightly towards any youngsters who make the breakthrough at clubs like United.

He refused to single out individuals when asked to do so at his briefing in Kuala Lumpur, ahead of the live MUTV match, and, instead, affirmed his belief in all of them to do their best to grasp any opportunities that come their way.

“One issue is we push too much from the beginning and you have social media and all the pressure around the young kids,” he admitted. “It’s hard to control. I don’t want to say any names but I believe in all of them and sometimes, like you said, you have surprises.

“This is a massive club and that is a big question – sometimes we put our young kids on a pedestal and that is an important thing to change, because we need to control that.”

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