Ruben Amorim conducted his first press conference as Manchester United manager earlier today.
The Portuguese tactician was presented with several questions by the media. One of those was focused on whether he can have an immediate impact on the team.
The 39-year-old was genuine in his response. He highlighted that the current crop of players lose the ball too often and there is the need to improve on ball retention.
He said via Manutd.com: “In simple things I think. If you want to speak about the team and the way we play, I think we lose the ball too often and we have to keep the ball better.
“We have to be better when we run back, I think it is clear for everybody and we have to be very good in the details.”
In our view, Amorim’s first presser could be bad news for one of United’s experienced midfielders.
Casemiro has got a regular run of games during the early part of the season due to injuries. He has started six of the previous seven outings for the club in all competitions.
However, his situation could change under Amorim. Manuel Ugarte should be an assured starter in the number six role, having previously worked under the Portuguese at Sporting CP.
Amorim could go with a more creative central midfielder alongside Ugarte. Kobbie Mainoo and Mason Mount are serious contenders to start, having fully recovered from injuries.
Casemiro has fared decently in the early part of the campaign, but his tendency to lose possession remains an evident weakness. He has a passing accuracy of only 83 percent this term.
The Brazil international has been dribbled past on 17 occasions in the top-flight so far. He has lost possession on 96 occasions from 641 minutes under two different managers.
Amorim primarily focuses on control from his midfield duo and we won’t be surprised if Casemiro is dropped from the starting XI for his first game in the dug-out against Ipswich Town.
Mainoo and Mount have had a couple of sessions under their belt under Amorim. The latter was in team training prior to the break and he could get the nod over Casemiro on Sunday.
Stats from Statmuse.com & Sofascore.com
Article written by Sri Aswin .
