Man Utd's WEAK LINK revealed as Amorim faces transfer headache

Tom Weber

Updated: 14 Dec 2024 08:43 GMT
3 min read

Ruben Amorim, Man Utd, 2024/25 — © IMAGO

The last thing Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim was another 'problem position,' but Andre Onana may have caused him a new headache.

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Prior to last week, the Red Devils shot-stopper was enjoying a brilliant campaign. Onana had managed to make everyone forget about his rocky start to life at Man Utd last season and established himself as one of the Premier League's most reliable goalkeepers.

Football is a fickle sport, however, and public opinion can change in an instant and Onana has had to find this out the hard way (again). The 28-year-old dropped a clanger against Nottingham Forest last weekend and then made another mistake midweek against Viktoria Plzen.

As a result, Onana's position has been called into question again - but for good reason, it seems. Despite his hitherto solid campaign, Plzen manager Miroslav Koubek has revealed that he had identified Onana as Man Utd's weak link prior to their Europa League clash.

Koubek claimed in his post-match interview that putting pressure on the Cameroonian "was our tactic. I told them to shoot from every viable opportunity," he added.

Amorim to sign a new keeper?

A problem in the goalkeeping position is, of course, the last thing Amorim needs. The new Red Devils head coach has plenty of other things on his plate already that can likely only be resolved with transfers.

There are several positions in which Amorim and the Man Utd hierarchy need to upgrade the playing personnel at the club and having to sign another - surely expensive - goalkeeper is something they can ill-afford to do in the present financial situation.

Before Man Utd can sign in 2025, they will have to sell to avoid breaching financial regulations and this means that they need to be very careful and smart about which positions they aim to bolster.

For now, Amorim is keeping the faith in Onana. "You have to take it like it is,’ the Portuguese said after Plzen. "He had already, in the past, a past situation like that. We have to work on this...But we managed [to come back]. We managed to help Onana, like he did in the past for us."

However, should Onana continue to make mistakes, Man Utd may have to be forced into a change that seemed unthinkable just a few weeks ago.

Read more about: Premier League, Man Utd, André Onana