Marcus Rashford

The 5 players who could be forced out of Ruben Amorim’s Man United

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It’s the beginning of a new era at Manchester United.

No player is safe.

All must prove themselves in front of the new man hoping to bring back the glory days.

Ruben Amorim hasn’t even graced the Old Trafford dugout yet but has illustrated his unwavering ambition of succeeding at the club.

“I will try do everything to put this club in the place it belongs. I will do everything to win, Amorim said.”

With United sitting 13th in the Premier League table, changes will have to be made to make this dream a reality.

Players will be sacrificed.

Their audition begins against Ipswich next Sunday.

All will be given a chance under the former Sporting Lisbon coach, but some players are in greater danger than others…

Marcus Rashford

This is his ninth season in the first team. Yes ninth!

Time has flown by since that young starlet set the world on fire scoring on his Europa League and Premier League debut.

But fast forward to his 27th birthday and Rashford is still doubted across the fanbase.

Many back him, but questions remain as to if he can ever become truly world class.

He’s been criticised for his work ethic and inconsistency over the years but still remained a starter for four different permanent managers.

But under Amorim, this won’t happen if Rashford slacks.

He will not tolerate a lack of work rate, expecting every player to work at 200%.

At his best, Rashford has all the qualities needed to be a winger under Amorim, due to his blistering speed and potent threat when driving at defenders but whether he can stay at this level, is a different matter.

Rashford must prove to Amorim he can work to his expectations consistently, else the potential of leaving Old Trafford after almost a decade in the first team, could be a looming possibility.

Luke Shaw

From the second longest serving active United player, to the first.

Shaw has been at United since 2014, when he was brought in for £27m as the fourth most expensive defender ever.

10 years later and his future at the club looks shaky.

In his back three formation, Amorim likes to use wing backs.

While it may seem similar to a fullback, it’s a completely different requirement and needs other qualities.

Since his double leg break against PSV in 2015, Shaw has struggled with injuries.

He hasn’t featured for United since the 18th February.

Shaw is expected to return from injury very soon, but after several months out, this could take a toll on his performances.

To fit into Amorim’s system, Shaw will need to adapt his game.

After the relentless problems with his fitness, he could struggle to do so.

At times, Erik ten Hag remoulded Shaw to play as a left centre half, so this could be a potential option for Amorim if he doesn’t fit in as a wing back.

But Shaw will need to prove that he can stay fit and adapt to Amorim’s system else he could find himself unneeded, very quickly.

Joshua Zirkzee

This might surprise a few.

With Zirzkee having just arrived in the summer, to say he could be in threat of leaving is harsh, but he’s not an Amorim signing after all.

At Sporting, Viktor Gyökeres is a textbook number nine, who can run the channels, drive at defenders and score from anywhere.

Zirkzee is nothing like this.

He calls himself a nine-point-five striker, rather than an out and out number nine or a 10, but if Gyökeres is anything to go by, then Amorim will want Zirzkee to become more of a traditional centre forward.

Zirkzee likes to drop deep into pockets of space to hold the ball up and move it forward, but isn’t as comfortable running the channels or getting in behind. Likewise he’s not known for his goal scoring, having racked up just 11 goals in 34 league games for Bologna FC last season.

Zirkzee faces the problem that Rasmus Hojlund is stiff competition, as he’s far closer to the Gyökeres profile than he is.

He’s only 23 though and with the right development, he can fit into Amorim’s plans.

Matthijs de Ligt

He could be another victim of the back three formation.

De Ligt is no doubt a great defender, but it’s also known he’s struggled to adapt to a back three.

At Bayern Munich and for the Netherlands, he looked uncomfortable in this formation.

So with Amorim’s almost inevitable implementation of the back three, this could pose a threat to De Ligt’s future at the club.

The Dutch international is a traditional centre half who reads the game well and is great in physical encounters but he struggles to transition due to his slow mobility and pace.

This means in a back three when there’s lots of space out wide, he could be vulnerable.

To deal with this, Amorim may look to use De Ligt in the middle of the three, with Lisandro Martinez and Leny Yoro either side of him. Both Martinez and Yoro are more comfortable dealing with this space, though Martinez isn’t terrific at it either.

Due to his qualities, De Ligt could make a great central defender in a three, and so could actually fit Amorim’s system quite well. This would see him in the Sebastián Coates role at Sporting.

But Amorim may look for flexibility in his defence with his starters able to play comfortably across the three. This would likely lead to an early exit for De Ligt in Manchester.

Bruno Fernandes

The Red Devil’s most consistent player the past four years but will he be an Amorim style player?

This is potentially the most interesting decision to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.

Fernandes has unparalled quality in this United squad but as he’s best in the ‘10’ position, a role Amorim doesn’t use in his formations, this could force him out of the team.

This is unlikely however as in Amorim’s ‘3-4-2-1’, he could be used as one of the two behind the main striker. Although it’s not his traditional role, he may adapt it to fit him.

Whether this happens depends on how the new manager wants to use his forwards, as he may opt for pace and power in the wings rather than the technical brilliance Fernandes brings.

Despite this, it would certainly be the most shocking exclusion if the Portuguese international was to be pushed out of the team by Amorim, due to his unbelievable quality which any manager would want to take advantage of.