Ruben Amorim will have a lot of work to do when he officially takes over as Manchester United head coach. Among them, the most important and urgent problem will be the Red Devils' central defenders and midfielders.
The Portuguese tactician is likely to stick to his preferred 3-4-3 formation at United. However, he needs the right personnel to do so. As he watches the 1-1 draw with Chelsea, Amorim will surely be concerned about the shortcomings in United's defence and midfield.
The central defender duo of De Ligt and Lisandro Martinez along with midfielders Casemiro and Manuel Ugarte are enough to give Amorim nightmares.
De Ligt was too slow and reckless to impress Amorim. The former Bayern Munich defender was almost helpless against the power and speed of Chelsea's Nicolas Jackson.
Martinez, meanwhile, will worry Amorim with his unhealthy decisions and habits. The Argentine centre-back often turns a simple situation into a dangerous one. For some reason, Martinez took too many risks with his over-the-top tackles. The centre-back should feel lucky that he didn't concede a penalty for his foul on Levi Colwill in the first half.
Martinez was booked for a foul on Cole Palmer in stoppage time, and it could have been a red. The knee was reviewed by VAR but Martinez escaped further action. This kind of rash tackle happens all too often for the Argentine defender. And at some point, he and United will pay dearly.
Ugarte was also unreliable in midfield and was substituted late in the game. The Uruguayan midfielder had a series of incidents that could have led to him being sent off after picking up a yellow card. The Red Devils' new signing is struggling to adapt to the pace of the Premier League, just as Casemiro has struggled since arriving in 2022.
4 expensive signings in important positions and surprisingly, Amorim cannot rely on any of them at the moment.
Unlike Sporting, Amorim will face huge challenges at Old Trafford. Man United is not only a big team but also always under pressure from fans, media and management.
In the context of the unresolved problem of the attack, other positions of Man United also revealed many shortcomings. Obviously, these will be difficult problems that Amorim cannot solve soon.
