Ruben Amorim’s appointment as the new Man Utd manager is the “dream scenario” for three Red Devils players, according to former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin.
The Red Devils have been terrible so far this season with Man Utd currently 13th in the Premier League as Amorim prepares to take over on November 11 after Erik ten Hag’s sacking last week.
Man Utd have won just three matches all season with only Crystal Palace and Southampton scoring fewer goals than them in the Premier League this term.
But Nevin reckons three players could be buoyed by the news of Amorim’s arrival at Man Utd with Bruno Fernandes, Manuel Ugarte and Luke Shaw having reason to celebrate for differing reasons.
Nevin told BetVictor: “When you look at players trying to get into Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United side, it might help if you’re Portuguese! There’s been an amazing amount of positivity from Bruno Fernandes around the announcement.
“I think Manuel Ugarte, whom he worked with at Sporting, will be important for him. In the end it will really come down to who fits into his system, because he is going to play three at the back. That will suit certain players, but others, not so much.
“It’s a dream scenario for Luke Shaw. He can play on the left of the back three, or as the left wing-back. Long-term, I think it will be harder for players like Casemiro and Christian Eriksen. They’re not young anymore and Amorim will want more dynamism in his midfield. I think it will be tough for them.”
But Nevin fired a warning to Amorim about his 3-4-3 system that he has deployed at Sporting Lisbon if he decides to use his favoured formation at Man Utd.
Nevin added: “Amorim needs to get them to a level where they can compete for European football again,” said Nevin. “Everyone wants to know which players will suit him, but he won’t know until he works with the squad. A player might seem perfect for a certain manager’s system, but then they might hate each other!
“It comes down to who buys into it. I do think he’ll make them better, but it’ll be intriguing to see how long it takes for his system to work. Three-at-the-back systems seem to work really well initially, but then teams work out how to play against it.
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“Chelsea experienced that under Antonio Conte and Thomas Tuchel. The system brought immediate success for both of them, but then they both got found out the following season.
“It’ll be like that for Manchester United. He’ll bring in his own ideas and I suspect they’ll work really well initially because he knows the system. But Premier League teams aren’t stupid, they’ll learn quickly and find where the weaknesses are.”
Some fans have been disappointed by the impact of Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS so far but Nevin reckons the Amorin appointment marks the start of their proper reign.
Nevin continued: “The INEOS era at Manchester United starts when Ruben Amorim walks through the door. They’ve got the backroom staff in place, the chief executive, and now they’ve got the manager they want – it’s all in place now. He needs to be given a minimum of two transfer windows, and after that you’ll find out exactly what he is.
“The worst thing they can do is what they did with David Moyes. If they end up doing that and sacking him after 10 months, then they deserve whatever happens to them. That group of players has shown that they’re not good enough, so it’s going to take time. They need to give him a couple of windows before they can expect improvement, never mind winning things!”
