If Rome wasn’t built in a day, it couldn’t be fixed in one either. In the case of Manchester United, who over so many years were shaped by Sir Alex Ferguson into a superpower, it’s understandable that this budding resurgence under Ruben Amorim’s wing might take a while.
And though the weekend draw at Nottingham Forest cut the Red Devils’ three-match winning streak in the Premier League, the squad look physically and mentally stronger, more receptive to the intricacies of the manager’s vision.
Amorim recently revealed he does not have an issue with any of the United stars pushed out of the Old Trafford gates in recent months, even though the manager felt strongly about such players leaving the club for the greater good of his project.
There is undoubtedly a ruthlessness about the 40-year-old, which will have charmed INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe as they ploughed through the recruitment process. And that may need to come into play once again here, with certain first-teamers surely at risk of being sold in 2026.
The Man United players INEOS need to sell
The jury is still out for many of these Manchester United players, and the recent upswings in form from veterans such as Luke Shaw and Casemiro suggest that they will keep their places at Old Trafford, having only last season been unanimously viewed as must-sells.
Manuel Ugarte is struggling to impose himself in the middle of the park, though, and Joshua Zirkzee has recently been reported to be frustrated on the fringe, looking to leave the outfit in January.
However, the revamp of the frontline suggests that Rasmus Hojlund and Marcus Rashford, both out on loan, will be sold next summer.
For Rashford, it’s clear the England international wishes to stay with Barcelona, having rediscovered his form out in Spain this season, scoring six goals and supplying seven assists from 14 matches in all competitions so far.
His relationship with his long-time club broke down last season and he left on loan for Aston Villa shortly after Amorim’s arrival. The general consensus is that the 28-year-old will not return in a professional capacity.
Amorim was right in parting ways with a player who wasn’t right within his system, and while things are now improving, he may need to apply a similar exit strategy toward another star who is failing to impress this season.
Amorim's new version of Rashford
Rashford’s future is unlikely to fall back into the Theatre of Dreams, plying his craft down the left for Amorim at Manchester United. The Three Lions star is abundantly talented, though he was at odds with the boss and appears to have divorced from his boyhood club.
In a similar way to Rashford, Diogo Dalot is becoming something of a scapegoat at the club, and as with Rashford, there is good reason for the frustration around him.
After the result at the City Ground, content creator Liam Canning said that the Portuguese defender is “becoming a worry long term”, given that he “doesn’t look like he suits the wing back role”.
His performance certainly corroborated that claim, with the Manchester Evening News branding him with a dismal 3/10 match rating after another unsuccessful venture on the left-hand side, having been ‘exposed at various stages of the contest’.
Concerning. Amorim simply doesn’t employ a four-man backline, and as Dalot’s outings on the left become more frequent, so too is it underlined that he does nnot cut the mustard in the system, and will surely be replaced next year.
Minutes played
68′
Goals conceded
2
Touches
43
Accurate passes
21/24
Possession lost
12x
Crosses
0/2
Key passes
0
Dribbles
0/2
Ground duels won
2/5
Aerial duels won
1/3
Man United content creator Dev Bajwa even said that the Portugal international “has got to be dropped” ahead of this weekend’s away trip to Tottenham Hotspur, a day which could underline the recent revival of Amorim’s side.
Amad Diallo’s impactful performance on the right stood as a dichotomy of tactical understanding in Amorim’s system. The wing-backs are among the most essential cogs for a team built on zonal rigidity. Dalot, to put that another way, isn’t effective in his unnatural placement, not least because he’s on his unfavoured side.
The 26-year-old has been a dependable servant for United over the years, arriving from Porto aged 19 in June 2018, for a £19m fee. In total, he has featured 219 times for the Old Trafford side, scoring nine goals and providing 18 assists.
It’s time for a change. The Braga-born star still has two-and-a-half years remaining on his £85k-per-week contract, but this suggests United could bank a sizeable fee were they to cash in on the stalwart next year.
His struggle to perform to his maximum in Amorim’s world is no new thing. Ten months ago, Dalot was singled out by Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher as bearing tactical differences to the new manager, and, as we reflect on the recent draw to Forest, it’s clear that not all that much has changed.
With Patrick Dorgu waiting in the wings, United have options to shuffle the pack. Moreover, Lisandro Martinez’s imminent return from injury could even see Luke Shaw deployed in a more advanced and wider berth.
This is all to say that Dalot isn’t cutting it, and when transfer season comes around once again, there’s little question that the Red Devils must prioritise a new robust option to perform down that left channel.