United launch inquiry to find the mole who disrupted their plans before Bournemouth clash – report

There was plenty of chatter before Manchester United’s Premier League clash against Bournemouth due to a sudden call from Ruben Amorim. The head coach has always been adamant when it comes to his much-publicised 3-4-3 system, claiming multiple times that he will not change his style of play, come what may. Plenty have urged him to tweak things, but the former Sporting CP boss has relented, until now. Hours before Monday night’s clash, it emerged that the Portuguese tactician had spent significant time on the training ground trying to drill his players to switch to a 4-3-3 system. The move was mainly necessitated due to Amad, and Bryan Mbeumo’s AFCON-enforced absence, and the team did line up in that system against Andoni Iraola’s side. Amorim finally changed his system That certainly unlocked the team’s attacking prowess as the home side scored four times but it left the defence shockingly exposed as Bournemouth scored as many times in the game. A thrilling encounter for neutrals, but not so much for Amorim. It was clear that the players did not look too comfortable, having played for over a year in a different way. But the trial is likely to continue in the coming games, and now, The Daily Mail has claimed that the 20-time English league champions are furious with the leak. Amorim is livid, and feels the leak helped the Cherries plan in advance. And now, United are trying to get to the bottom of things by unearthing the mole. “United have launched an inquiry into how Amorim’s plans to tweak his 3-2-4-1 system leaked out on the day of the Bournemouth game. News got leaked, United furious “Amorim has stuck steadfastly to a back-three formation since joining United from Sporting Lisbon, but amended it slightly on Monday night with Diogo Dalot dropping from his wing-back role on the left flank to be a conventional full back in a four-man defence. “However, news of a change was circulated on Monday afternoon and United are concerned that it gave Bournemouth advance notice of their game plan on the day of the match. The club are determined to find out where the leak came from to stop it from happening again in future.” Amorim did not hold back after the game. “That is for you to discuss, not for me. I know that you guys know that I trained this week with a back four. I don’t know how, but that is a good thing for you guys to discuss this week.” The Red Devils have had multiple moles in the past within the squad, much to the annoyance of previous managers. INEOS felt they had got rid of these elements but not quite as the report has suggested. Feature image Carl Recine via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Ayantan Chowdhury After failing to become a professional footballer, Ayantan switched to the next best thing: writing about the greatest football club in the world. He has extensive sports journalism experience, having worked for over 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25