‘Man United ready for mega collapse as walls close in on Ruben Amorim’
Ruben Amorim will only just be realising how massive a rebuild Man United require as his struggles only worsen at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils have slipped to 13th in the Premier League table, with just 10 league victories, and having recorded a measly 44 per cent win rate since November, Amorim is under serious pressure at Man United.
Nothing highlighted his desperation better than United’s 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest at The City Ground on Tuesday, 1 April, being punished by one of the club’s former players, Anthony Elanga.
The team needed a goal, and with both Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund having little effect in the final third Amorim resorted to throwing centre-back Harry Maguire into the action up front.
Harry Maguire favoured as Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee fail
Despite coming on with two minutes of normal time remaining, he was still able to create more Expected Goals (xG) in that time than the two strikers combined, having also netted the same number of goals in all competitions as they have in the Premier League this season.
Bruno Fernandes is the club’s leading goalscorer this term, and while his talents are undeniable on the pitch, it should not always fall to him to drag United through the mud to a victory.
| Man United’s top scorers in the Premier League | No. of goals |
| Bruno Fernandes | 8 |
| Amad | 6 |
| Alejandro Garnacho/Marcus Rashford | 4 |
| Joshua Zirkzee/Rasmus Hojlund | 3 |
| Lisandro Martinez/Matthijs de Ligt | 2 |
Amorim was long-expected to alleviate Man United’s scoring problems with Viktor Gyokeres, but Arsenal are now well the race for the Swede’s signature, coming as a huge blow to the former Sporting CP manager who had success with him in Portugal.
Other than Amad, who has been a serious miss for Man United, Marcus Rashford is the next highest goalscorer in the league alongside Alejandro Garnacho, and he has not featured under Amorim since December.
Marcus Rashford just one issue ahead of summer transfer window
Rashford, however, has thrived since moving to Aston Villa, doing enough to gain Unai Emery‘s trust and a place in Thomas Tuchel’s first two international starting XIs, but this might not be enough for the club to trigger a permanent deal for the England international this summer.
Simon Jordan suggested that Villa are unlikely to splash £50million on Rashford’s signature, adding further to the issues of potentially not being able to offload Jadon Sancho and Antony.
While Chelsea are expected to sign Sancho on a £25m deal this summer, it has emerged that the Blues can cancel that deal by handing just £5m to Man United, and that remains on the table with the ex-Borussia Dortmund winger’s impact having faded.
More problems arise when looking at Anthony’s loan deal in La Liga because, despite impressing since leaving on loan in the winter, Real Betis are unlikely to fund a permanent deal for the Brazilian.
Ruben Amorim needs Europa League title to relieve pressure at Man United
Without being able to sell three of the most valuable unwanted assets in the squad, the club’s financial issues could become even more stark than they already are, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe making numerous unpopular cost-cutting decisions at Man United.
While the prize money from Europe would likely not make the same dent as offloading any one of the three aforementioned players, it would keep the fans off his back as he attempts to rebuild the squad this summer.
Lifting the Europa League trophy is even more vital when looking at the team’s end-of-season run-in, with Man City, Newcastle United, Bournemouth, Chelsea and Aston Villa all left to play domestically.
And thanks to an incredibly poor league campaign, United’s only way of reaching the Champions League next season is via the Europa League, and that could make all the difference in keeping star players.
Bruno Fernandes exit rumours spark new fears at Old Trafford
While this will be the last thing United fans want to hear, Fernandes’ future has been questioned as the team continue to struggle on the pitch, which has not been helped by the manager’s comments.
Amorim was quick to state that the Portuguese star will not be leaving Old Trafford this season [The Times], having reportedly held talks in person with the skipper, but supporters have seen through that pretty quickly, suggesting there would be no need to mention the subject if those fears were not already present behind the scenes.
The problems continue to pile up for Man United and Amorim, and the former Sporting CP figure is likely only just realising the size of the challenge ahead of him.
A lack of firepower in the final third, struggles all over the pitch in the Premier League, and fears being sparked over big-name exits are all being wrapped in the financial issues plaguing Old Trafford right now.
Richard Keys has already suggested that Amorim has one eye on the Man United exit doors, and with all the pressures named above, he would not be blamed if he took the easy way out this summer.