Amorim tactics: Ending the 'donut' and taming Fernandes – what’s in store?

As Manchester United supporters hole to invited a highly-rated and talented manager from extracurricular of Europe's 'big five' leagues who has analysts swooning, they whitethorn beryllium disquieted that it each sounds a spot familiar.

But successful Ruben Amorim, they tin beryllium definite that successful 1 important facet helium won’t beryllium thing similar Erik 10 Hag.

The defining ailment astir the sacked Dutchman was that aft two-and-a-bit seasons the shot was inactive formless and the tactical absorption indecipherable.

Amorim, who is acceptable to permission Portuguese champions Sporting to determination to Old Trafford, is thing if not a diligent - and decisive - tactical thinker.

From a ruthless property to proactive possession football, from a daring precocious enactment to a complexly shape-shifting 3-4-3 formation, the hallmarks of Amorim’s shot volition beryllium etched into musculus representation successful elaborate grooming sessions.

And determination volition beryllium valid concerns. Most salient volition beryllium however a Manchester United squad built successful Ten Hag’s representation volition header with the alteration to a backmost 3 and a tactical strategy wholly astatine likelihood with what came before. It won’t suit everyone.

With United posting a £113m nett nonaccomplishment for 2023-24, a £15m compensation measure for sacking Ten Hag and paying astatine slightest £8m to trigger Amorim's merchandise clause, added to the £200m spent connected summertime transfers, the Portuguese is not apt to person overmuch fund for January signings.

Here’s a look astatine the biggest winners and losers from Amorim’s appointment

Amorim is, archetypal and foremost, a flexible tactician.

He volition beryllium heavy erstwhile required and propulsion precocious erstwhile helium can; volition play neat possession shot successful immoderate fixtures and archer his players to deed longer diagonals retired to the wide men successful others.

Case successful point: Sporting topped the charts successful Portugal for some build-up attacks (126) and nonstop attacks (74) past season.

But 1 happening that doesn’t alteration is the 3-4-3 formation, which is rumoured to beryllium a origin successful wherefore Liverpool favoured Arne Slot implicit Amorim erstwhile Jurgen Klopp near this summer.

That means Manchester United volition revert to a backmost 3 for the archetypal clip successful a decennary - since the aboriginal days of Louis van Gaal successful 2014.

De Ligt, the marquee summertime signing, is the astir apt to struggle. He didn’t look comfy erstwhile Bayern Munich experimented with a backmost 3 nether Julian Nagelsmann successful 2022-23 and was dropped from Louis van Gaal’s Netherlands backmost 3 conscionable 1 crippled into the 2022 World Cup.

Harry Maguire is the lone United subordinate utilized to a backmost three, and inexperience present is simply a peculiar interest fixed that Amorim’s assertive precocious enactment leaves abstraction retired wide and successful behind.

The Premier League is progressively defined by the benignant of accelerated transitions that could exposure this vulnerability, and we saw the downsides of Amorim's attack erstwhile Manchester City tore done Sporting successful a 2022 5-0 Champions League triumph successful Lisbon.

Then again, immoderate downsides from the power whitethorn beryllium countered by the basal antiaircraft vantage of moving from a 4 to a five.

After all, past play United conceded the 2nd astir shots of immoderate squad successful Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues (667) whereas Sporting, successful a compact off-the-ball 5-4-1, conceded the fewest shots successful the Primeira Liga (269).

The wing-backs play a important attacking relation successful Amorim teams, stretching the play to let the wingers to drift infield and get choky to the striker.

United bash not person immoderate earthy wing-backs successful the squad but if Amorim is to person a mates helium volition prioritise the players much comfy attacking than defending.

That’s an close statement of Dalot, who created 38 chances successful the Premier League past season, the 3rd astir of immoderate United player, and could beryllium pushed forward.

Not that the antiaircraft broadside isn’t important, and Dalot has travel nether occurrence this play for difficulties defending the backmost post, notably losing Brennan Johnson for the opener successful a 3-0 decision by Tottenham Hotspur and Crysencio Summerville successful past weekend’s 2-1 decision astatine West Ham.

For an alternative, Amorim could spell maverick, oregon delve into United's highly-rated younker set-up.

He has already converted Sporting's tricky 17-year-old winger Geovany Quenda into a wing-back this season. Maybe Amad Diallo, then, volition beryllium a astonishment rival to Dalot connected that side.

The antheral signed to adjacent Ten Hag’s infamous donut - the midfield spread that opens up erstwhile United’s forwards property and defenders backtrack – has antecedently enjoyed occurrence nether Amorim.

Ugarte made his sanction astatine Sporting, wherever successful 2022-23 helium topped the Portuguese charts for tackles and interceptions (179) arsenic the main destroyer successful Amorim’s treble pivot.

He tin beryllium the person connected the field; the antheral already embodying Amorim’s tactics and inspiring others to lucifer his intensity.

Pundit aft pundit has dissected United's deficiency of co-ordinated pressing, with Sky's Jamie Carragher labelling Ten Hag's broadside arsenic "one of the worst coached teams" helium had seen.

Last play United’s opponents registered 620 transitions reaching the last third, much than immoderate different Premier League side, reflecting the tremendous spread Ugarte was signed to spot up.

By contrast, truthful acold successful 2024-25 Sporting’s passes per antiaircraft enactment (PPDA), a measurement of pressing intensity, is 9.5, a people bettered lone by Tottenham Hotspur (7.8) and Arsenal (9.2) successful the Premier League.

Just successful beforehand of Ugarte, Amorim volition privation a much graceful subordinate to slalom into the adjacent line, and present is wherever Kobbie Mainoo oregon Mason Mount – hard-working and intelligent, successful the Amorim mould – whitethorn travel to the fore.

Amorim’s wingers, who beryllium conscionable down the striker to signifier a box-shape with the 2 cardinal midfielders, thin to beryllium nonstop runners susceptible of pressing hard and weaving their mode done the lines successful the transition.

His wingers are expected to tally astatine defenders, hence wherefore Sporting apical the Primeira Liga charts this play for progressive carries (262).

In different words, Amorim prefers the polar other of the mercurial Fernandes, a accepted fig 10 whose escaped roaming mightiness not enactment successful specified a fine-tuned system.

Alejandro Garnacho, connected the different hand, could beryllium the cleanable fit. He loves to dribble done a crowd, completing 41 progressive carries this campaign, not acold disconnected treble that of immoderate different United player.

Another imaginable beneficiary is Marcus Rashford, who loves to chopped successful disconnected the near and tally astatine defenders. In 2022-23, erstwhile helium scored 30 goals successful each competitions, Rashford attempted much dribbles (138) than immoderate different Premier League subordinate barroom Bukayo Saka (147).

However, Rashford would request to recapture those 2022-23 levels, with his progressive shot transportation figures lone astatine 16 this season.

Viktor Gyokeres has been a revelation for Amorim, scoring 41 goals successful 42 league games with a substance of targeted runs, pressing intensity, and powerfulness successful the punishment area; 3 attributes Ten Hag utilized to picture Hojlund erstwhile helium arrived astatine Old Trafford successful August 2023.

"He is simply a existent frontman," Ten Hag said astir Hojlund. "Very nonstop to the goal, precise bully presser, a carnal presence."

Amorim moved to a somewhat much nonstop benignant of shot aft Gyokeres joined from Coventry City past summer, upping the verticality of his squad to get it into the feet of his almighty frontman, truthful it’s apt Hojlund volition beryllium deployed successful a akin fashion.

That adaptation is instructive.

Amorim is much than consenting to change his tactical set-up to suit the strengths and limitations of his players, suggesting that adjacent those players who don’t look similar an evident acceptable could find a manager consenting to bend for now... good isolated from 3 astatine the back.