Ruben Amorim's Man United inbox: Make a brutal call to Marcus Rashford and turn the failed star into 'Viktor Gyokeres 2.0'

It is the start of a new era at Manchester United with Ruben Amorim landing in the UK this week to begin work as the club's first head coach.

Fresh from finishing a modest eighth place last season, Erik ten Hag He paid the price for the club's worst start to a Premier League campaign with his work, so how can Amorim succeed where everyone else after Sir Alex Ferguson has failed?

talkSPORT takes a look at Amorim's inbox as he undertakes the daunting task of returning the Red Devils to their former glories.

IMPLEMENT A DEFINED PLAY STYLE

Even after May's FA Cup final victory over city ​​of manchester – arguably United's best day of the post-Fergie era – questions persisted over Ten Hag's philosophy (or lack thereof).

The truth is that that cup journey, which included a barely believable extra-time victory over arch-rivals Liverpool and almost being eliminated in the semi-finals by Coventry despite leading 3-0 with 19 minutes of normal time left, summed up the United's career. inability to dominate games as they had in their illustrious past.

Even in the final itself, which many called a tactical masterclass, United had just over 25 per cent possession against the team Ferguson called “the noisy neighbours”.

As so often under Ten Hag, who was recruited in part for the possession-based game he was able to implement so successfully at Ajax, the Red Devils relied on moments of individual brilliance and hitting City on the counterattack as their path to glory. .

Ten Hag tried to change that this summer and the early signs were good, as United enjoyed more control and played fewer direct passes, opting instead to build from the back, in their penalty shootout defeat against City at Wembley .

But after losing at Brighton in their second league game, any sign of identity quickly faded again, with huge gaps appearing in midfield and the opposition being allowed to dictate the flow of the games.

Like Ten Hag, Amorim arrives with a defined proposal high energy play styleand part of the reason Liverpool chose not to remain interested in him was because they didn't feel his 3-4-3 formation suited their team. Unlike Ten Hag, the 39-year-old has to be brave enough to stand by his principles.

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CUT DEAD WOOD

The fact that there are players on United's books who have outlasted three or four managers should be a big red flag for Amorim.

While it will be very difficult to get rid of underperforming big players like Marcus Rashford, a much-needed summer clean-up will be helped by the fact that Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, Christian Eriksen and Jonny Evans are all out of contract at the end of the season and everything should be let go.

Casemiro has enjoyed a increase in performance level under interim coach Ruud van Nistelrooy, but it is difficult to imagine the veteran Brazilian being able to meet the rigorous physical demands Amorim places on his charges.

Luke Shaw conveniently returned to training shortly after Ten Hag left, but he can't be trusted to stay fit, so there's another who should move on, while there are already big question marks within the halls of Carrington on £36.5m summer recruit Joshua. Zirkzee is made for the Premier League.

Rashford is a fascinating case study; a player who initially excelled with Ten Hag and enjoyed the best scoring season of his career before the relationship deteriorated to such an extent that sources say the pair were barely on speaking terms in the end.

England outcast Rashford is said to be excited by the prospect of working with Amorim but recent performances suggest he is a long way from returning to his best and if that doesn't change quickly then United could have a decision to make. brutal. the poster boy for his academy.

When fully fit, Mason Mount looks perfectly suited to play alongside Bruno Fernandes as one of two No. 10s behind a single No. 9, but he really needs a run of games between now and the end of the season to salvage what he has. So far it has been a disastrous move by Chelsea.

talkSPORT has already revealed that £80m Antony has been told his future lies elsewhere and he could leave in January, although a loan return to the Dutch league or his native Brazil seems the most likely scenario.

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TURN RASMUS HOJLUND INTO GYOKERES '2.0'

There is no better example of how far the United star has fallen than the fact that even after Sunday's 3-0 win over Leicester, they have still scored TWELVE goals in ELEVEN Premier League games. That is the same number as Erling Haaland alone and less than Wolves and Leicester.

However, it's not that this is a team that struggles to create chances. In fact, they have missed more big chances than any of the other 19 clubs.

By contrast, Amorim's Sporting team scored 39 goals in their first 11 league games (all wins) and scored four goals against Manchester City in the Champions League. It also turned Viktor Gyokeres, considered surplus to Brighton's requirements, into one of the most sought-after forwards in Europe, with clubs such as Chelsea and Arsenal keen to bring him back to England next summer.

The United hierarchy will hope he can have the same impact on Rasmus Hojlund, who has scored just two goals in his 12 appearances this season.

United is another potential suitor for Gyokeres, although his hiring will be in charge of the sporting director Daniel Ashworth and head coach Jason Wilcox and not Amorim himself, the pressure is on Hojlund to start finding the net consistently.

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GOAL FOR THE EUROPEAN LEAGUE

There may only be four points separating 13^th put United and Chelsea in third place, but the level of quality in the top half of the table has arguably never been higher.

It is almost impossible to see a scenario in which leaders Liverpool and champions City, even taking into account their current wobble, do not finish in the top four, so the battle for two, maybe three depending on the teams' success English in Europe, other places in the Champions League is going to be fierce.

While improving on last season's worst result in the Premier League is a top priority with so many games still to play, winning the Europa League may offer an easier route back to the top of the European table.

After ending a year-long wait for a European victory by beating Greek side PAOK 2-0 last week, United have a run of very winnable games to start Amorim's tenure and should easily finish in the top eight to go directly to the last 16.

UEFA's new format also means they don't have to deal with teams dropping out of the Champions League, so it's no surprise that United and Tottenham, shaky away from home, are the two main favorites to lift the trophy.

Amorim led Sporting to the quarter-finals in 2023, eliminating Arsenal in the last 16, so he knows the competition United last won under his mentor Jose Mourinho seven years ago.

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