Ruben Amorim is reportedly open to evolving Manchester United's style of play, having been wedded to playing three at the back ever since his arrival at Old Trafford over a year ago.
Amorim and United have struggled for much of his 12 months in charge, but the last few weeks have brought about an improvement in the team's fortunes, with the Red Devils currently unbeaten across five Premier League games.
The Athletic reports that United's sporting director, Jason Wilcox, is a fan of the 4-3-3 formation, and has held talks with Amorim over how United's system could change over time.
It is reported that Amorim has laid his team out in a 4-3-3 system at times during training sessions, although The Athletic says that "this is mainly to embed understanding for certain phases of play during matches."
Still, the suggestion is that Amorim could tweak his system over time as United's squad and the players' understanding of his methods develops.
Liverpool considered Amorim as a possible replacement for Jurgen Klopp last year before eventually settling on Arne Slot as the German's successor.
Amorim earned himself a reputation as one of the best young coaches in Europe due to the success he achieved with Sporting Lisbon, and attracted the interest of Liverpool when the shock news of Klopp's departure was confirmed in January 2024.
However, the Reds eventually went in a different direction, with Slot's appointment confirmed in May.
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot.
Liverpool plumped for Arne Slot over Amorim (Image: Getty Images)
The Athletic reported that there were two main reasons that Liverpool opted against making a move for Amorim, with one of them being the concerns that fans might not enjoy his style of play; the second reason was the club's apprehension about how wedded Amorim was to a back-three system.
Liverpool was, contrastingly, impressed with how Slot's brand of football energized Feyenoord's working-class fanbase.
One of the main reasons for Liverpool's reluctance to buy into Amorim's preferred formation was the amount of money the Reds felt it would cost to reshape the squad to suit the system.
Liverpool reportedly felt that it would cost around £400 million ($525 million) to revamp the squad to suit playing three at the back.
The decision to appoint Slot ultimately proved to be the right one, as Liverpool cantered to the title during the Dutchman's first season with the club.