Man United head coach Ruben Amorim reacts during a matchplaceholder image
Man United head coach Ruben Amorim reacts during a match | AFP via Getty Images
Manchester United can start to look to the future from a position of relative strength but there are still one or two players who need to be sold.
Manchester United managed to remove a lot of expensively assembled dead wood in the summer although Ruben Amorim won’t be finished clearing the decks just yet.
The Red Devils boss will be wanting to add more players who he knows can contribute when called up with one particular area of concern. Amorim was prickly when asked recently about Kobbie Mainoo’s lack of game time but has never really been convinced by the England international who is looking to leave Old Trafford.
There is also the small matter of having two 30-somethings currently playing as his first-choice pairing. In the most demanding position, in a system that puts a lot of pressure on the engine room, this isn’t sustainable.
Man United linked with midfielders as Manuel Ugarte struggles
Alongside Mainoo, Manuel Ugarte is another who has never really settled under Amorim with the former Paris Saint Germain midfielder now said to be attracting interest from Galatasaray. If United can get the 24-year old off the wage bill it would free up money and space in the squad for a defensive midfielder or deep lying playmaker who can be the metronome that Amorim needs alongside Bruno Fernandes.
For nearly £50m, the Uruguay international hasn’t made the impact that was expected of him, and Jason Wilcox must be kicking himself that the same transfer window saw Elliot Anderson move to Nottingham Forest for £40m.
Anderson has been linked recently, as has Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton, but with price tags expected to be in the £100m range, they won’t come cheap. One player who would cost more than half of this fee is Serie A winner and Scotland international Billy Gilmour. The 24-year old moved to Serie A at the same time as Scott McTominay and has improved immensely under the tutelage of Antonio Conte.
Currently sidelined after undergoing surgery on his pelvis, Gilmour has been a regular this season at the base of a midfield that saw Kevin De Bruyne added in the summer. Known for his energy, and always being available to defenders and the players in front of him, Gilmour could be the perfect playmaker to knit the core of United’s team together.
Why Gilmour would be perfect for Man United
Gilmour was man of the match on his FA Cup, Premier League, Champions League and international debuts and was always tipped for the top as a young teenager growing up in Rangers’ youth ranks. Despite training with the first team at only 15, he signed with Chelsea so that he could train on a daily basis with better players. A move that ultimately paid off.
Conte is a huge fan of Gilmour and described exactly the type of player that United needs: "Today, I wanted to give a chance to Billy, because I wanted to have more control of the ball. I think Billy played a fantastic game. I love him,” Conte said previously.
"We are talking about a guy who, during the training sessions, every time his level is top, top, top. For me, he’s a fantastic player: he takes the ball under pressure, looks [scans] before receiving the ball, always knows where the ball is going. A big, big personality."
The bonus with Gilmour is that he also counts as an association trained player in terms of the UEFA quota, an impressive World Cup with Scotland and he could be on the move again.
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