Exclusive – Wes Brown picks United’s best defence with this “superb gem” leading the way for Amorim

Wes Brown has picked Manchester United’s strongest defensive line-up – and it includes a “special gem” Ruben Amorim is lucky to have in his ranks, but omits an experienced star who the ex-defender is “gutted” to leave out. The Centre-Backs Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Peoples Person, courtesy of BetWright, Brown was asked who he thought made up United’s best backline. Having won 13 trophies during his time at Old Trafford, with Sir Alex Ferguson even describing the academy graduate as the “best natural defender” in England, Brown is better placed than most to know what it takes to lead a successful defence in a red shirt. The 46-year-old opted for Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt and Luke Shaw as his three centre-backs, stating the trio are “perfect” as a unit: “I think all of them together have done really well as a combination.” But Brown was quick to stress he was “gutted” to leave out Harry Maguire – a player who has consistently “come up trumps” for the club in recent years, as demonstrated by Maguire’s decisive last-minute goals. But the superb form of De Ligt means the England international has to accept a role on the bench. “At the beginning of the season, I would have put Harry in there, but I think De Ligt has shown the manager what he can do. You can see he’s worked on his game and his concentration levels are so much better than last year.” Brown states De Ligt and Shaw have “caught up to the speed of things” with both defenders having grasped the intricacies of Amorim’s system – which requires the centre-backs to aggressively push forward to bolster the midfielder – the best. When Shaw is fit, an issue the 30-year-old has struggled with throughout his time at United, there are “not many better”. The prospective return of Lisandro Martinez from his long-term ACL injury will be a “bonus” for Amorim in the left centre-back role as well. Focusing on Yoro, Brown believes the French starlet can “do better” but is “still young [and] learning his trade”. “Out of all of [the defenders], I think Yoro could be the best one,” he concludes – a reflection of the £59 million outlay United invested last summer and the interest the 20-year-old received from Europe’s top clubs, including Real Madrid. The Wing-Backs Wing-backs are absolutely crucial to Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 system, with the players selected in that position having to simultaneously be strong defensively and offensively. From that perspective, Brown considers Amad a “special gem” of player, given the 23-year-old can do “both roles”. And while he describes it as a “shame” not to see Amad deployed higher up the pitch, the Ivorian’s work-rate makes him the best candidate at the club to play this demanding position. Amad under Ruben Amorim MatchesGoalsAssists 38911 Statistics provided by Transfermarkt But the left wing-back position does not have as obvious an option as on the right – and Brown judges that that the “quality needs to be better” on this side for Amorim’s set-up to work. The 46-year-old believes the head coach would “like somebody left-footed there” but Patrick Dorgu – the 21-year-old Dane signed from Lecce last January – is yet to cement his place. This had led Amorim to often play Diogo Dalot out of position on the left, despite the Portugal international being a right-back by trade. “Dalot is very good technically and at crossing from that right side, but it is more difficult from the left. He is still a defender, [while] Amad is more of an attacker who can also defend.” United’s Best Defence This leaves a five-man defence which Brown wants to see United line up with at the back. Yoro      De Ligt     Shaw  Amad                                                              Dorgu It feels unlikely there are many fans who would disagree with the Premier League and Champions League winning defender’s unit, this writer included. Featured image Alex Livesey 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 Darragh Darragh is an editor for The Peoples Person who spent three years learning about the Cold War at the University of Sheffield slowly realising football was by far the most interesting thing to write about. Amad’s first touch should be officially recognised as the eighth wonder of the world.