Amorim plays down talk of move for new striker

Ruben Amorim has played down suggestions that Manchester United must find a new striker via the transfer market.

The Reds have scored just 13 times in 12 Premier League games so far this season and our top-scoring forward, Alejandro Garnacho, has only three league goals to his name.

Marcus Rashford found the net early in Amorim’s first match as United’s head coach, but Ipswich looked the more likely team to score for much of the contest thereafter.

Ahead of the Portuguese’s first game at Old Trafford – Thursday’s Europa League meeting with Bodo/Glimt – the 39-year-old hinted that the team would work more on its play in the final third in the coming weeks, and reassured supporters that we are capable of ‘so many goals’.

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“Of course, there is a concern in that [we are not scoring a lot of goals],” began the boss, “but I think we have to improve as a team, because we have quality players that can score so many goals.

“You could feel it in the second half [against Ipswich]. We controlled the possession of the ball, but we were not dangerous. Maybe because we spent the week trying to work on build-up, and then the rest was not working.

“So we’ll try to improve as a team and Rasmus and Josh and Rash will score more goals. Even Bruno has to score more. Amad has to be better near the goal. We can score so many goals. You are trying to [find out] if I need a new striker to score goals. But we need to improve as a team, and these players can score more goals.”

Amorim was then asked specifically about Marcus Rashford, who scored 30 goals in a season as recently as 2022/23.

Rashford’s finish at Portman Road was his fifth of this campaign, across all competitions, but the forward netted just eight in 43 appearances last term.

The 27-year-old’s new coach admitted that the centre-forward role Marcus adopted on Sunday was not his most suitable position, but revealed his personal belief that the player can relocate the confidence that powered his career-best form of two seasons ago.

“I will try to help him,” Amorim stressed. “That position is not the best one for him, especially in a game like that. With high pressure, we had to kick the ball so many times and he was, like, fighting with two giants.

“So we’ll try to find the right solution for him, as for the other players. But it has to be Marcus, first of all, to try to return to that moment [when he scored 30 goals] and then he will have the help of all the staff, of all the club, of all the fans, because he is a Manchester United boy.

“But he has to be the first one to really, really want it.”

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