Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos have an ‘elephant in the room’ at Manchester United and must act on Wayne Rooney’s observation to benefit Ruben Amorim for the long term.
The spotlight has been placed on Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos in the summer window after a turbulent season at Old Trafford in the 2024-25 Premier League season.
Ineos and Ratcliffe made the decision to axe Erik ten Hag last October and replaced the former Manchester United manager with ex-Sporting CP boss Ruben Amorim.
Amorim was unable to turn the tide back in the favour of United in the Premier League last season and the Red Devils ended the campaign in 15th place.
United suffered their worst finish in the Premier League era and the Red Devils will be without any European football for the 2025-26 campaign at Old Trafford.
Amorim, who left Sporting CP and arrived at the Red Devils last November, also watched United lose 1-0 to Tottenham in the 2025 Europa League final in May.
READ MORE: Ben Foster argues Man Utd ace isn’t right ‘vibe’ for Ruben Amorim’s team, he can’t unsee ‘big contrast’ in one case
Photo by Michael Regan - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
Photo by Michael Regan – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
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Wayne Rooney’s eagle-eyed assessment of Man Utd needs to be acted upon by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos
Ruben Amorim will begin the major rebuild of the Manchester United first-team squad that he inherited from Erik ten Hag in the summer transfer window.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos have already made an early move in the window and United have signed Matheus Cunha from Wolves for a £62.5m transfer fee in June.
The Red Devils are expected to reinforce further with additional signings and United have been linked with Bryan Mbeumo, who is tipped to leave Brentford this summer.
Wayne Rooney was on punditry for BBC’s Match of the Day 2 in May and the 39-year-old United legend made an insightful point about the Red Devils.
United had played Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium and the Bees inflicted a 4-3 Premier League defeat on the Red Devils after trailing 1-0 in the tie.
Rooney spoke about United’s performance vs Brentford and the former Red Devils striker highlighted a key problem about the Premier League club right now.
Responding to BBC pundit Danny Murphy, he said at the time: “You’d think so, but I think the second team are playing a back four, which I found strange, because those players who are coming into the first team now with the under-23s or under-21s are playing a different system.”
READ MORE: Ruben Amorim told Man Utd star is getting ‘most’ out of every other player at Old Trafford, he ‘does things properly’
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos must fix Wayne Rooney’s concerns and bring Man Utd’s youth academy closer to Ruben Amorim’s system
The United youth academy has played with a four-man backline for matches, despite the arrival of Amorim at the Premier League club as Red Devils head coach.
Amorim rolled out his tactical system at United from the moment that he arrived and the Red Devils have shifted to a three-man backline with the first team.
The United manager’s system has yielded mixed results for the club, but Amorim has remained firm that he will stick with his tactics amid the intense criticism last season.
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However, the divide between the youth academy and the senior team could only slow down the further development and progression of youngsters at United.
Rooney’s eye-opening critique should be a point that Ratcliffe and Ineos waste no time reacting to and implementing a key change within the youth academy.
The disconnect between the academy and the first team is something that United cannot afford to sleep on, especially for a manager who plays with a unique approach.