So many problems, so many decisions and so much disappointment to process - welcome to Ruben Amorim’s summer in charge of Manchester United.
If the Red Devils thought they couldn’t plummet any lower after a season of ineptitude, under-performance and crushing mediocrity, the Europa League final defeat by an equally unimpressive Tottenham Hotspur showed there was further to fall.
What could have been a night to remember in Bilbao became a night to forget - like so many days this season - showing what a tragic club Manchester United have become.
Amorim Under Big Pressure to Improve Form
Lack of European action means tactician has no excuses
Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim on the touchline
How Manchester United rebuild and climb back to a team capable of finishing in the top half of the Premier League, let alone top six, is anyone’s guess. Especially as they now cannot offer potential new signings a Champions League stage on which to perform.
If you’re a top player on the move this summer, it’s odds on Old Trafford will be way down your list of career choices. And who would blame you? The Red Devils' inadequacy now sees them excluded from European competition for at least fifteen months.
That’s a bitter financial pill that will cause more distress to a club who have wastefully burnt through £1.3billion on transfers in the last few years.
Yet could there be a chink of light that, in the sorrowful aftermath of defeat at the San Mames Stadium, hasn’t been fully digested by Manchester United’s hardcore support?
The one game a week scenario the Red Devils are now facing is a fiscal nightmare for Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the money-men who were praying for a £100million Champions League jackpot by winning in the Basque country.
Bizarrely, for Amorim it could be a golden ticket to better times. The Portuguese coach has overseen Manchester United’s worst Premier League finish in history, a disastrous plunge even for this insipid team.
Ruben Amorim's record in charge of Manchester United
Hit by injuries ever since he took over a dysfunctional squad low on quality, the former Sporting boss has been on the Thursday-Sunday-Thursday fixture treadmill all season with little time on the training ground.
Now he will have the time to shape his and Manchester United’s future. For while traditional rivals like Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham head into Europe, Amorim will have blank weeks with no midweek football - just the training sessions he’s been craving.
But with that luxury comes a responsibility that could end in the sack if he doesn’t get his side back on track. His safety net has now gone.
Amorim will have no excuse if his team repeat the inconsistency and Premier League failings that have turned this campaign into one of the ugliest seasons in their history.
And that leads to another dilemma for Ratcliffe. Should he back Amorim in the transfer market this summer with another £100 million or more?
The gamble is clear to see. If Manchester United don’t pick up in the Premier League after another hefty summer spend, Amorim could be facing the sack by Christmas. And with such a niche way of playing with a 3-4-3 or 3-4-2-1 system, that means buying specific types of players that might not be the best fit for the next manager in the hot-seat.
Ratcliffe has already been burned once by keeping Erik ten Hag after the FA Cup final victory over Manchester City last season, when his instinct before that match was to part company.
That led to more summer spending, with Ten Hag overseeing the arrival of Joshua Zirkzee and Matthijs de Ligt - two players who still haven’t totally won fans over.
However, this summer there’s no internal debate about the manager's position, with Amorim safe. And that means Ratcliffe has to back Amorim - with all the financial risks that brings.
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Onana Facing Uncertain Future at Old Trafford
Cameroon international broke unwanted record last week
Andre Onana in action for Manchester United against Lyon
One of the many key calls by Amorim this summer centres on goalkeeper Andre Onana. The Cameroon international, who cost £47million when he arrived at Old Trafford from Inter Milan, has had a poor season with individual errors costing Manchester United dearly.
His failure to stop Brennan Johnson’s scrappy first half goal for Tottenham in the Europa League final earned him the unenviable record of becoming the first custodian ever to lose three European finals with three different clubs.
He first lost to Manchester United in the 2017 Europa League final while at Ajax before suffering defeat between the sticks for Inter against Manchester City in the 2023 Champions League final.
His latest final setback against Tottenham has put him in the spotlight again. Stats masters Opta have also recorded that Onana has the worst clean sheet percentage and the second-worst save percentage of any Red Devils goalkeeper to have played 900 or more minutes since the 2003/04 season.
Aston Villa star Emiliano Martinez is the latest to be linked, with Burnley’s James Trafford, Espanyol’s Joan Garcia, Real Madrid’s Andriy Lunin, Borussia Dortmund’s Gregor Kobel and Parma’s Japanese star Zion Suzuki all said to be on Manchester United’s radar as potential arrivals.
Amorim to Hold Conversations With Rashford
Tactician could settle differences with academy graduate
Marcus Rashford during a pre-match warm-up at Aston Villa
Such is the desperation at Manchester United after the defeat in Bilbao that all options are being explored by the club. Could that include keeping Marcus Rashford? Amorim is due to meet with technical director Jason Wilcox, chief executive Omar Berrada and the recruitment team over the next few days, and Rashford’s future will be a major talking point.
With finances taking a major hit and no Champions League action next season, getting Amorim to patch up his differences with Rashford - who played his last Premier League game for the Red Devils against Nottingham Forest in early December - is believed to be on the agenda.
Indications suggest Aston Villa may not pursue a permanent deal for the Manchester United academy graduate, while Barcelona have yet to make contact with Old Trafford chiefs.
All statistics courtesy of Sofascore - correct as of 27/05/2025
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