Manchester United looked lost against Newcastle on Monday and succumbed to their fourth loss in a row as the Magpies emerged 2-0 winners at Old Trafford.
Ruben Amorim’s choice of tactics is clearly not working with the current squad ill-equipped to deal with his demands having been assembled to play a counter-attacking style.
The Portuguese prefers to control possession and INEOS’ decision to back Erik ten Hag in the summer window seems even worse in hindsight.
With the Red Devils languishing in 14th position, only seven points clear of the relegation zone, the new co-owners need to back the head coach or things could get even worse.
Amorim needs help in January
The only problem? The club is teetering on the edge of PSR restrictions and after a significant payoff to their former boss coupled with compensation to Sporting Lisbon to land Amorim.
If you add the huge amount utilised by Ten Hag last summer, not much in terms of a transfer budget is available to use in January for the new coach.
United need at least a left wingback and striker to steer clear of danger but the head coach has warned fans that even those might be off limits as per his discussions with the ownership.
Speaking after the defeat to Newcastle, Amorim told reporters, “We don’t have that possibility in January. You know the situation better than I do.
No major transfers, says Amorim
“It’s not the case I am not arriving here and I can spend a lot of money, changing all the team. You know the situation so it’s not a point to talk about it.”
The only way the club can afford players is if they can sell their underperforming and overpaid stars with the futures of quite a few up in the air.
Marcus Rashford is one of the most high-profile names looking to leave while Casemiro, Christian Eriksen and Victor Lindelof have all been linked with an exit.
Hopefully, INEOS can raise some cash via player sales and can at least recruit a few players to salvage the season. The threat of relegation is a very real one and Amorim’s job is on the line.
Feature image Stu Forster via Getty Images
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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
