12 hours Ago By Vatsal Gupta
The last few days have probably been the best in Ruben Amorim’s short time at Manchester United because he hasn’t been the one facing questions!Omar Berrada and Sir Jim Ratcliffe have “faced the music”, in the latter’s own words, with everything covered from Man Utd’s new stadium plans to their mistakes in the past. Ratcliffe has handled these questions with his usual honesty, something that makes sense now why Ruben Amorim was hired as Man Utd manager!Meanwhile, Omar Berrada has been the calm customer, most importantly quashing fans’ worries about the transfer market in the summer. Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty ImagesOmar Berrada on Man Utd’s transfer strategyMan Utd’s new stadium is an ambitious plan but it’s a long-term one.
In the meantime, they need to create a team competitive enough to warrant playing in a stadium that iconic. That work begins in the summer, with it being the first summer window where Ineos have their full team and most importantly, their own manager in place. Fabrizio Romano predicted a blockbuster summer window for Utd, and while the fans will be happy to hear that, they had a lingering fear.
That fear stems from the previous “blockbuster” windows under Erik ten Hag, where the manager seemed like he was dictating the transfer business, resulting in multi-million duds like Antony and Mason Mount, to name two. Berrada has quickly moved to quash the prospect of that mistake being repeated with Ruben Amorim in a clear message. He said: “When it comes to our recruitment strategy, without commenting too much, the idea we have is to be able to bring in versatile players that can be adaptable to multiple systems.
“Ruben himself has said it, it’s not about the 3-4-3 tactical formation, it’s about an idea, a concept of how he wants to see the team playing. He wants to see the team playing more on the front foot, more of a possession, attacking-based style of football.“For that, you need players that can play in multiple positions that can adapt to that vision that Ruben has.
And this is what we’re going to try to do over the next years in our recruitment.”Man Utd finally getting it rightIt goes without saying that until the window comes, this is all just lip service, but so far, Ineos have backed up their words with actions. Be it the redevelopment of Carrington or moving forward with a plan for the new stadium, they haven’t made empty promises.
This can be seen in the short transfer history as well. Patrick Dorgu is an ideal wing-back but he’s a versatile and athletic player who can feasibly play in five positions – (full-back and wing-back on both sides and on the right side of the attack). The same goes for Ayden Heaven, who can easily play as a left-sided centre-back in a back four and as a defensive midfielder if needed.
United are buying a profile of a player, not a position, and that is the thinking that had been missing from the club’s strategy for a long time. The proof of the pudding will be seen in the summer, but the early signs show United are getting it right now..
