Manchester United have it all to do this season, having started poorly yet again. Managerial scrutiny is no new thing at the Theatre of Dreams, and Ruben Amorim is very much at the centre of the current struggle at the club, and the pressure is mounting.
It is concerning that Amorim continues to search for his first back-to-back victories in the Premier League. It is concerning that, though we are only six games into the term, the Red Devils are 14th in the standings. It is concerning that Grimsby Town won on penalties to knock Man United out of the Carabao Cup in the second round.
It is more concerning still that banished players from last season are performing with such gusto since leaving Old Trafford, and who could typify that more than Marcus Rashford at Barcelona?
Marcus Rashford's Barcelona glow-up
Rashford was at a crossroads after concluding his loan spell with Aston Villa last season, having been ostracised by Amorim following the Portuguese manager’s arrival in England.
It was generally accepted that the change was needed for the Three Lions star, who has started life in Spain emphatically, scoring twice and assisting four goals across seven matches.
The 27-year-old has long been considered one of the most talented Englishmen of his generation and, indeed, enjoyed several staggering high points at Man United, at times one of the most clinical wingers in Europe.
He is coming back to form on loan with Barcelona, with his show-stopping performance against Newcastle United in the Champions League evidence of that.
However, there’s no question that Rashford was an issue for United last year, and that we might sadly be seeing Amorim’s new version of the talented forward emerging before our eyes.
Amorim's new version of Rashford
This summer, Bruno Fernandes proved his loyalty to Manchester United when rejecting the lucrative advances of Saudi Arabian suitors, but his performances since have left plenty to be desired.
He is the club’s best player. The captain, Fernandes has scored 17 goals and assisted 12 more across 47 matches for Amorim. But he has also presented a tactical quandary, with the manager’s 3-4-3 formation meaning he has been placed into a two-man central midfield.
It is not like Fernandes has not played in a deeper role before. The Portuguese Magnifico’s range of passing and technical command illustrates his versatility. However, rarely before coming under Amorim’s wing had he played in a two-man midfield.
Attacking midfield
396
141 (118)
Central midfield
108
29 (17)
Left winger
18
3 (3)
Right winger
14
5 (4)
Centre-forward
8
0 (3)
Holding midfield
7
4 (4)
It might be that a more naturally polished box-to-box player could help restore some semblance of fluency to the Man United team, and Fernandes’ frustrations at having missed two penalties already in the Premier League this season perhaps underscore his current plight, typically unerring from the spot.
Fernandes’ application cannot be questioned, and in that way, he differs from Rashford, but the £300k-per-week talent is one of the outfit’s superstars, and once again, Amorim may be dealing with such a big name entering persistent media discourse for all the wrong reasons.
Following the heavy defeat in the Manchester derby, the Independent’s Adam Cleary said that the skipper’s role deep in the centre of the field was becoming a “problem”, for he does not provide the defensive security and roundedness that is perhaps needed.
This is not a slight against Bruno. He is trying to bring it all together for the Red Devils, but fighting an uphill battle, and if Amorim fails to devise a formula for success soon, Fernandes might be following another former United talisman out the door, with hopes of rekindling his finest football before he sinks too deep into his thirties.
