Erik ten Hag’s inability to implement a discernible style of play at Manchester United was one of his biggest problems, so it is hardly surprising that, in Ruben Amorim, the club have chosen a manager with a clear identity as the Dutchman’s successor.
Across a four-year spell at Sporting, during which he has won two Portuguese league titles and two league cups – having previously won the league cup with Braga – the 39-year-old put a stamp on the side which has remained consistent despite player turnover.
Amorim’s Sporting are characterised by a short-passing possession game, a three-at-the-back set-up and an aggressive pressing system facilitated by a high defensive line.
But as he prepares to take the reins at Old Trafford, how will his methods translate at Manchester United?
Back three and Martinez importance
It appears unlikely that Amorim will deviate from a back three given he has deployed the system in all 188 league and European games at Sporting. According to Opta, his most common starting formation is 3-4-2-1, ahead of 3-4-3, with 3-5-2 the only other used.
It will take some getting used to for his new players. Under Erik ten Hag, Manchester United started almost 90 per cent of league and European games in a 4-2-3-1 shape. They did not start a single game in those competitions using a back three, according to Opta.
Matthijs de Ligt is the most likely option to line up in the centre of Amorim’s back three at United, given the importance of leadership and experience in that role. The wide centre-back positions, meanwhile, look well-suited to Leny Yoro and Lisandro Martinez.
Yoro remains untested in the Premier League, of course, having suffered a foot injury in pre-season. But his potential is not in doubt and the added security of playing alongside two central defenders rather than one could help him bed in when he returns to fitness.
The strength in numbers could benefit Martinez, too. Athough one of United’s better players under Ten Hag, he has struggled at times in a two. On the left of a three, he could replicate the crucial role of Goncalo Inacio, who occupies the same position at Sporting.
Like Martinez, Inacio is excellent on the ball and a distinguished passer. Amorim gave him more responsibility than any other player in Sporting’s build-up. His average of 95.9 passes per 90 minutes this season is in fact the highest in the Portuguese league.
Inacio was asked to thread passes forward to Sporting’s midfielders and forwards wherever possible and Amorim will doubtless demand similar of Martinez. According to Second Spectrum tracking data for this season, his total of 746 defenders bypassed is 54 per cent higher than any other United player’s.
He is, in other words, already fulfilling a similar task, something which is unlikely to have gone unnoticed by Amorim as he draws up his plans for his defence in and out of possession.
Wing-backs provide width
Amorim’s back three becomes a back five when defending but his wing-backs are primarily attacking weapons, responsible for providing width and contributing goals and assists.
Ten Hag sought to use his full-backs similarly, asking them to push high up in possession, but the approach was flawed, with his two centre-backs unable to cover the space behind them and United’s opponents repeatedly taking advantage from turnovers.
With better cover, the same players would be able to focus on their attacking responsibilities without fear of being exposed at the other end. Noussair Mazraoui and Diogo Dalot are natural full-backs rather than wing-backs but they are certainly capable in the final third. The same goes for the injured Luke Shaw.
Amorim helped a long line of players thrive in his wing-back roles at Sporting, including Pedro Porro, whose 13 goals and 14 assists in two-and-a-half seasons in Lisbon earned him his £39.7m move to Tottenham, completed last summer following a loan spell.
More recently, Nuno Santos has been even more effective, contributing four goals and 10 assists in 32 league games last season playing almost exclusively as a left wing-back.
Santos, like others to have been used in the position by Amorim, is a natural winger, which raises the possibility, however unlikely it may seem, of a more attacking wide player, such as Alejandro Garnacho, Amad Diallo or even Antony being redeployed in the position.
Ugarte reunion key for Amorim?
Manuel Ugarte shone under Amorim at Sporting, making the jump from squad player to key figure over the course of two seasons before his £50m move to Paris Saint-Germain. After an awkward start at United, the familiarity of his former boss should help.
Ugarte still needs to adapt to the demands of the Premier League, of course. But Amorim knows how to get the best out of him. He did that at Sporting by allowing him to play to his strengths. While others, such as Inacio, were asked to focus on progressing the ball, Ugarte was left to focus on winning it back.
The Uruguay international ranked sixth among Sporting players for passes per 90 minutes in the 2022/23 season but the volume of his defensive work was impressive. His total of 121 tackles was the highest in Portugal and the fourth-highest across Europe’s major leagues.
His ball-winning ability was used as a means of protecting Sporting’s defence. But it was also harnessed further forward.
While ostensibly a defensive midfielder, Ugarte was key to the effectiveness of Sporting’s high-press that season, winning possession in the final third 23 times, the highest total by any player in the division.
His understanding of Amorim’s off-the-ball approach could be helpful to the new boss and the hope for United is that his tigerish qualities will work well alongside the ball-playing ability of someone like Kobbie Mainoo, another player Amorim – a manager with a track record for nurturing young talent – will aim to develop.
Bruno to join front three?
There are of course other midfield options for Amorim to consider, including Mason Mount, Christian Eriksen and Casemiro. He could even deploy Bruno Fernandes in a deeper role.
But Amorim generally prefers more defensively-minded players in his midfield two. The 30-year-old, whose move from Sporting to United came a few weeks before Amorim’s appointment at the club in March 2020, appears more likely to be used in support of the striker.
Not that he would be pushed out wide. With his wing-backs operating close to the touchline, Amorim’s wingers are generally deployed closer to the centre of the pitch, on the inside.
It is of course in those areas that Fernandes is most effective. Amorim’s use of Pedro Goncalves in a similar role at Sporting is a possible clue as to how he might be used.
Encouraged to drift infield from the left flank, Goncalves has racked up outstanding numbers under Amorim, scoring 81 goals and providing 56 assists in 187 appearances in all competitions.
Marcus Rashford’s preference for cutting inside from the left may mean Fernandes is used off the opposite flank, but he would still have access to the central zones from which he is so dangerous.
Gyokeres example for Hojlund
It is only in the last two seasons at Sporting that Amorim has had the luxury of a truly prolific out-and-out striker. Before the arrival of Viktor Gyokeres, scorer of 59 goals in 65 games for the club, his top scorers were wide players Goncalves and Pablo Sarabia.
But his success with Gyokeres still offers hope that he could get more from United’s frontmen, particularly the £72m Rasmus Hojlund, who has scored only 18 times in 52 games in all competitions since his arrival at Old Trafford from Atalanta last year.
Hojlund, although quick, has not demonstrated the same power and ball-carrying ability as Gyokeres, whose directness has given Sporting a new dimension. But he would certainly benefit from the kind of service the Sweden international has received under Amorim.
Comparing their output over the last two seasons highlights the difference on that front. While Gyokeres has averaged nearly four shots per 90 minutes in Portugal, Hojlund’s average is way down at only 1.6 per 90 minutes at United. It is hardly surprising, then, that his goal total is far lower. Shot volume is key for strikers.
Hojlund’s isolation under Erik ten Hag was not just limited to his shots. He has averaged only 28.4 touches per 90 minutes at United compared to Gyokeres’ 44.6 per 90 minutes at Sporting. Gyokeres gets more than twice as many touches in the opposition box.
Gyokeres is helped, in part, by the proximity of Sporting’s wide players, who are better able to link up with him thanks to their tucked-inside positioning. By asking the same of his wide players at United, Amorim would hope to increase Hojlund’s overall involvement and, in turn, his scoring output.
It is just one of many areas of tactical intrigue ahead of Amorim’s eagerly-anticipated arrival at Old Trafford.