BACK IN THE RED
New Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim to be handed instant injury boost as £60m ace set for first-team return
Tactical reshuffle under Amorim could see ace back in starting XI
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RUBEN AMORIM is set to be handed an instant injury boost when he finally takes charge at Manchester United after Mason Mount returned to first-team training.
The Portuguese boss has been confirmed as Erik ten Hag’s successor at Old Trafford.
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But he will not be taking the reins until after November’s international break.
It means the current Sporting Lisbon chief has plenty of time to prep for his first game against Ipswich Town as interim gaffer Ruud van Nistelrooy takes charge of fixtures with PAOK and Leicester.
And Amorim is sure to be running his eye over United’s talented, yet underperforming, squad.
He certainly won’t be short on options after Ten Hag was provided with £200million-worth of new stars over the summer.
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But one forgotten ace is also set to rejoin the pack, with Mount returning to full training after missing the whole of October with injury.
Mount was signed from Chelsea a year ago for an initial £55m, with fee potentially hitting £60m.
Still only 25, he should be hitting his peak after leading the Blues to the Champions League and Club World Cup.
But Mount has been hit by numerous injury problems at United and so far has just one goal in 25 outings.
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The England star will be desperate to relive his Stamford Bridge glory days at Old Trafford.
And he could be one of the beneficiaries of Amorim’s new 3-4-3 formation, which sees two versatile forwards sit either side of the striker.
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Mount played a similar role on the right at Chelsea under Thomas Tuchel.
But he will first need to prove his fitness while also convincing Amorim that he is more deserving of a place in the forward line than the likes of Marcus Rashord, Bruno Fernandes or Alejandro Garnacho.
Ruben Amorim is ‘Mourinho 2.0’ who turned Sporting from ‘walking dead’ into Portuguese champs… he can revive Man Utd
WHEN Ruben Amorim took charge of Sporting Lisbon in March 2020, one club official compared their situation to the “walking dead”, writes Jordan Davies.
Optimism and hope was at an all-time low.
But the Amorim-effect was almost instantaneous, guiding the Portuguese sleeping giants to their first league title for 19 years in 2020/21, losing just once and only conceding 20 goals.
Since then, Sporting have lifted another league title in 2023/24 – as well as two League Cups – and currently sit top with nine wins from nine this term.
He may be young, but Amorim already has an eye for rebuilding and revitalising fallen super powers with his infectious charisma and intense tactical philosophy that hardly ever wavers.
The “walking dead” at Manchester United must be praying for a similar sort of revival.
And they may just get it from one of the most talented young coaches on the continent – a man accustomed to breathing new life back into crumbling institutions such as Old Trafford.
Amorim has spent the last decade dreaming of one day gracing England’s Premier League, such was his admiration for an ex-United boss in Jose Mourinho growing up.
Often nicknamed ‘Mourinho 2.0’, Amorim spent a week with his coaching idol in an internship capacity at United’s Carrington training base in 2018, going on to cite him as his “reference point”.
United should not be expecting a mini-Mourinho, as Amorim said himself: “Mourinho is one of a kind. There won't be another Mourinho. Mourinho is unique.”
And yet, you cannot help but compare the two.
For all the mismanagement in the Old Trafford hot seats over the years, this would be a real get – finally a slap in the face United’s Prem rivals have no answer for.
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