Manchester United’s insistence on getting Ruben Amorim through the door mid-season had its troubles but there’s also been a major upside.
Ruben Amorim now goes into the summer window fully aware of what his players are, their positions, strengths, and weaknesses.
This will help the club make more informed decisions in the summer from a position of strength and due diligence instead of juggling pre-season and short sample sizes.
One such decision has already been made for them by a Man Utd untouchable in an unexpected position. It completely changes their summer plans.
Photo by Alex Dodd - CameraSport via Getty Images
Photo by Alex Dodd – CameraSport via Getty Images
Man Utd’s untouchable in unexpected position
It looked like Amad at wing-back after Amorim’s first game in charge but the Ivorian ended up flourishing closer to the goal which was expected.
A player who took the reverse route, starting further forward before flourishing in a deeper role, has been the unexpected untouchable.
That player is Bruno Fernandes, who was widely thought to have a nailed-down place as one of the two attacking midfielders.
The midfielder started out there as well before an injury crisis to the likes of Kobbie Mainoo, Eriksen, and Casemiro forced him into a deeper role.
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Since then, Fernandes has been irresistible, becoming a jack of all trades and a master of them too!
From scoring, creating, defending, pressing, and building up, Fernandes has been left to do what he does best in an increasingly influential role where he sees much more of the pitch in front of him.
In turn, it should change United’s transfer plans in the summer.
Bruno Fernandes changes Man Utd’s transfer plans
Before Fernandes’ unexpected emergence as a brilliant No. 6 in Amorim’s system, there was a clear need to have reinforcements next to Manuel Ugarte in a deeper role.
That became even more urgent when Kobbie Mainoo flourished further forward, while the departure of Casemiro and Christian Eriksen is a matter of “when”, not “if”.
Now that Fernandes-Ugarte has emerged as the untouchable deeper midfield axis, there is probably a more urgent need to get an attacking midfielder while relying on a youngster or two to provide backup for the first-choice duo in the deeper role.
This will come as music to the ears of the owners too, as Mainoo and Fernandes have effectively swapped positions because Mainoo still needs to prove himself.
If Mainoo does that, a new contract for him won’t be a problem so United negotiate that contract from a position of strength instead of relying on him as the only option next to Ugarte.
It’s a headache, but finally, it’s a good kind of headache for United!