Winners and losers of Ruben Amorim joining Man Utd

Cameron Smith

• 1 Nov 2024 07:05 CDT
• 4 min read

Ruben Amorim is Manchester United's new head coach, with the Old Trafford club announcing the news on 1 November.

The 39-year-old will replace Erik ten Hag at the helm of the Red Devils and has become Man Utd’s sixth permanent head coach since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013.

Amorim is required to end Man Utd’s slide down the Premier League standings and INEOS will hope he is the man capable of guiding the club back to the very top of European football.

His arrival is set to spark major changes at Old Trafford, with Amorim likely to deploy a 3-4-3 formation after experiencing huge success with this system at Sporting.

However, this will have huge implications for a number of first-team players at Man Utd. Below, FootballTransfers runs through the potential winners and losers of Amorim being appointed as Ten Hag’s replacement.

READ MORE: How Man Utd will line up under Ruben Amorim

Winner - Manuel Ugarte

Manuel Ugarte was signed to play a key role under Ten Hag, but he will be overjoyed by news that Amorim is set to arrive at Old Trafford.

The Uruguay international enjoyed the best spell of his career at Sporting, with Amorim’s high-intensity style suiting Ugarte down to a tee.

The 23-year-old knows Amorim’s system perfectly and he is set to thrive when the Portuguese tactician completes his move to Man Utd.

Loser - Marcus Rashford

Amorim may love Rashford and it may be the Englishman could rediscover his best form upon the arrival of the Sporting boss.

However, Amorim is expected to play a 3-4-3 formation, and with Bruno Fernandes and Alejandro Garnacho the most likely candidates for the inside forward roles, Rashford could be dropped to the bench.

As a result, he could be forced to leave Man Utd if he has aspirations of an England recall under Thomas Tuchel.

Winner - Harry Amass

Man Utd youngster Harry Amass was given a chance during pre-season, but he is yet to make his first-team debut in a competitive fixture.

But that may change under Amorim. Amass is a fantastic attacking full-back and given Amorim uses a wing-back system, he could turn to the youngster on the left flank.

Diogo Dalot isn’t particularly suited to playing on the left and with Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia both injury prone, Amass may be given a chance to shine.

Loser - Matthijs de Ligt

Ten Hag was a key reason behind Matthijs de Ligt’s summer move to Man Utd, with the pair reuniting after a successful spell together at Ajax.

However, Ten Hag is already gone and there’s no guarantee that Amorim will favour De Ligt, especially given he could target reinforcements at the back in January.

Furthermore, Amorim will be the ninth different manager that De Ligt has played under since making his senior debut in 2016. That lack of continuity is a real problem for a player who has arguably regressed since leaving the Eredivisie.

Winner - INEOS

INEOS should’ve sacked Ten Hag this summer, despite his FA Cup triumph, and that decision was certainly a poor one.

However, they have acted quickly to appoint Amorim and given his reputation as one of the best coaches in European football, it’s a major coup.

Man Utd needed to replace Ten Hag and given the options on the market, Amorim is an excellent hire.

Loser - Premier League clubs

There’s no guarantee that Amorim will succeed at Man Utd, but his arrival spells the end of Ten Hag’s reign, which is a blow for all Premier League clubs.

While the Dutchman’s win percentage is the third-best of any permanent Man Utd manager in history, the Red Devils endured their worst-ever Premier League finish last season and progress under Ten Hag was almost non-existent.

His departure could therefore signal the start of a Man Utd team ready to compete in the English top flight yet again.