Michael Owen has given his verdict on the team incoming boss Ruben Amorim will pick when he arrives at Manchester United, and it’s not good news for Casemiro.
Like many others the former striker has seized upon Amorim’s record of playing a 3-4-3 system for his predicted XI, and believes the Portuguese will look to implement it straight away.
Talking to Premier League Productions, via Metro, his biggest call is in the centre of the park where he plumps for summer arrival Manuel Ugarte over waning midfield general Casemiro.
Despite it being a “a bit of a toss of a coin between the two”, Owen points to the Uruguayan’s time spent under Amorim at Sporting Lisbon as the deciding factor.
Ugarte has struggled to adapt to life in the Premier League so far, and it’s not a given that a change of manager will be able to combat this, but Owen feels that the pair’s history will give him the edge over Casemiro.
Owen also has strong views on the back three, opting to overlook Harry Maguire in favour of the unproven summer arrival Leny Yoro.
Given United’s defensive toils this season Yoro would certainly have made his debut by now had it not been for an injury picked up in the pre-season.
And with the 18-year-old nearing a return Owen suspects he will be the first choice, flanked by fellow summer signing Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez.
“De Ligt and Martinez either side are aggressive defenders, they like being up against strikers, so that middle player has got to be good on the ball and Yoro fits the bill,” he said.
“I think if everyone is fit that’s the back-three he would pick.”
Further forward, Owen makes the popular picks of Marcus Rashford on the left and Rasmus Hojlund up top, but tackles the thorny issue of including natural number 10 Bruno Fernandes by pushing him wide on the right.
This leaves United’s top scorer Alejandro Garnacho on the bench.
Featured Image Gualter Fatia via Getty Images
Joe Ponting
Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried.
