Ruben Amorim’s first Manchester United training session has shown that he is sticking to his guns with respect to adhering to his favourite 3-4-3 formation.
However, finding the right personnel to adapt to his methods in the beginning will not be too easy as quite a few United stars are currently sidelined.
Luke Shaw and Leny Yoro, both of who recently returned from long-term injuries, were tried out on the left and right side of the backline with Jonny Evans playing in the middle.
Lisandro Martinez, Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire are all sidelined and Amorim is facing a dearth of quality options at the back. And the Portuguese coach is looking into fixing this moving forward.
Diomande race
The likes of Lindelof, Maguire and Evans are unlikely to be at the club for too long and the former Sporting Lisbon manager is eyeing one of his proteges to come in and fix the issue.
Ousmane Diomande, one of Amorim’s trusted defenders in Lisbon, is a target for both the Red Devils and bitter rivals Manchester City.
Amorim has already promised that he will not come in for any Sporting star in January and that has provided City with the chance to come in and steal the Ivorian’s signature.
As revealed by Sky Sports, Hugo Viana, sporting director of Sporting, who will be soon joining City, is pushing City’s case for the Ivory Coast international.
“Already on Manchester City’s radar when he was playing at FC Midtjylland, the Skyblues have targeted Diomandé as a priority. Hugo Viana has already prepared his plan of attack in order to convince the president of Sporting Lisbon, Frederico Varandas.
City vs United for Diomande
“If Ruben Amorim has promised that Manchester United will not recruit any of his former players in January, the Portuguese technician should still be careful not to be overtaken in the race for the sexiest central defender of the moment.
“Diomandé has already spoken with Amorim. Joining a coach who made him so strong would be beneficial to his development, and Diomandé knows it, as Portuguese sources have confirmed to us. The player’s will is tending towards the red… but will City put forward strong arguments in advance in January to reverse the situation?”
The 20-year-old is a physical specimen, standing 6ft 3in, and has a release clause of £70 million. He had kept 10 clean sheets last term and has already accumulated seven this season.
Hopefully, City do not overtake United in January with INEOS already announcing that Amorim will have a very limited budget to work with moving forward. There are other clubs like Arsenal, Bayern Munich also in the fray.
Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
