Ben Mattinson’s tactical breakdown: How will Ruben Amorim set-up at Manchester United

Ruben Amorim’s move to Manchester United as their new manager is imminent, as the Red Devils get ready to  enter a new era.

But just how will he set-up his team?

Manchester United Will Change Formations

At Sporting, Amorim set the team up in a 3-4-2-1 formation. He’s a possession based coach with some fairly rigid positioning of players and looks to create as many transitions as possible. It’s a style which, although is different to what Manchester United have had previously, it has a lot of similarities to their DNA as a club. 

The goalkeeper needs to be comfortable in possession as they tend to be heavily involved in the initial phase of build-up play, so in this area André Onana is a great fit. Generally, the keeper isn’t positioned very high so Onana will need to adapt accordingly.

Center Backs Are Key

The profiles of the center backs are really important to the team as every attack starts from them and they’re a big reason for Sporting’s success under Amorim. At their best last season, former Liverpool defender Sebastián Coates was the central center back and the backline leader. As one of the most dominant aerial defenders he’d stay deep and defend the box whilst being a dangerous threat on corners too. Coates was club captain and an intelligent last man defender. His main involvement in build-up play was his exceptional long passing to start attacks and play runners in behind the opposition defense. Harry Maguire and Matthijs De Ligt are ideal for this role.

Coates’ positional discipline enabled the front-footedness of Amorim’s wide center backs. Any two of Gonçalo Inácio, Ousmane Diomande, Eduardo Quaresma, Jeremiah St.Juste and this season Zeno Debast would sit either side of Coates. Usually one of them would be the build-up ‘leader’ where they’d be the highest touch defender playing loads of line-breaking passes and also going on marauding carries into the middle third. Inácio and Quaresma were the main two doing this role and now Zeno Debast this season too. The other wide center back would be less of a carrier but just as progressive. It’s essential that these center backs have elite ball security and line-breaking ability as they have to find the attacking 10’s and midfielders in build-up. Lisandro Martínez and Leny Yoro suit these wide CB roles perfectly.

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Wing Backs Ready to Fly

When hearing a team has wingbacks, some may assume that the team are ultra-defensive and lack threat going forwards; however, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Amorim’s wingbacks aren’t exactly what you’d expect in terms of their roles within the team. They’re actually more like wingers in possession who are also good defensively. In early build-up they’re used for their passing to create quicker transitions and in the final third they’re used for 1v1’s to create cutbacks and crosses into the box. Some of the main players who have played there recently have been Nuno Santos, Geny Catamo, Geovany Quenda who are all wingers-turned-wingbacks. Matheus Reis is the only actual full back who played there but he also spent a lot of time as a LCB.

These wingbacks position high and wide and provide the team’s width in all phases. They even tend to be on their opposite side. Quenda is the perfect example of what Amorim wants from his wingbacks. He’s a left footed right winger who’s moved back as a wingback and due to his passing ability, he’ll be positioned deeper and quickly release the ball in behind the defence with a reverse pass using his left foot. Right now, Manchester United don’t have the exact profile for these wingbacks so maybe Amorim just opts to use the fullbacks there instead temporarily before signing the right profiles.

Ready Made Midfield For Amorim?

The midfield double pivot has so much ground to cover. One of Bragança or Morita would play slightly higher and partner new club captain Morten Hjulmand in midfield. Hjulmand would be a sitter deep and stick to the right side of midfield where he’d create triangles with the RCB, RWB and RAM/RW in build up whilst also whipping crosses into the box from the right half-space.

Morita/Bragança would be positioned higher but essentially do a similar role connecting the left-side players to quickly progress the ball through the phases. Importantly, these midfielders need a lot of stamina due to the large distances they cover. They also need close control, press resistance, tenacity off the ball and good passing ability as they’re also very progressive players who make plays from deep. Some of Manchester United’s midfield profiles suit these roles but this is definitely an area Amorim will want to address, particularly the Hjulmand role.

Forwards Lead The Line

The front three consists of two ‘inside forwards’ who are much more like 10’s rather than wingers and they’re creative first. Pedro Gonçalves (Pote) and Marcus Edwards are both small, technical players who thrive in the pockets. Both are skilled dribblers with an eye for a final ball in behind, instinctive finishers and good ball-strikers. Bruno Fernandes, Amad Diallo and Mason Mount are particularly well suited to these roles as they possess similar traits and profiles.

Finally, Amorim’s system at its best all geared around creating chances for his deadly channel running striker Viktor Gyökeres. From the CB’s, midfielders, wingbacks, 10’s, they all play passes in behind to the #9 and Gyökeres does the rest. As a selfless channel runner, he’ll make runs to create cutbacks into the box for other runners, but more importantly as a runner in behind to score himself.

This is why Rasmus Højlund could be the biggest beneficiary of Amorim’s style. Højlund is at his best on transition or when the ball is played in behind the defence to him. His combination of pace, physicality and powerful finishing will be exactly what Amorim looks to optimize by giving him lots of service