‘There Is an Idea’—Ruben Amorim Delivers Surprising January Transfer Revelation

Numerous reports have linked Man Utd with reinforcements across the pitch.

Ruben Amorim was not in the best mood when he faced the media this week. / Ash Donelon/Manchester United/Getty Images

Ruben Amorim strongly suggested that Manchester United’s “idea” for the January transfer window was to make few if any changes to the squad despite multiple reports to the contrary.

Whether United’s squad needed alteration was not under discussion from Amorim. Given the record Premier League champions are responsible for a third of the points picked up by one of the worst teams to ever grace the division, the calibre of player at Old Trafford clearly leaves plenty to be desired.

However, United’s quest to bolster these reserves has been hampered by their past failings. A lack of European qualification forced a focused summer spend directly solely at the frontline. As Amorim rightly pointed out this week: “We are clearly attacking better.” Yet, that same improvement has not been spotted in other areas of the pitch.

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The January transfer window has sparked a flood of rumours, with a wide player thought to be high on a wishlist which may also include a new midfield addition. There are several figures at the club who could also benefit from a change of scenery, yet Amorim was pessimistic about any serious activity this month.

“The transfer window is not going to change, we have no conversation to have any change in the squad,” he frankly admitted.

Ruben Amorim is under fire once again. / Ash Donelon/Manchester United/Getty Images

“There is a process, there is an idea—that is going to continue. We are near places of the Champions League but we are also near eight teams behind us, so let’s focus on the next game.”

Amorim bluntly rejected the idea of anyone knocking on his office door to request a transfer: “No. None of them. I don’t expect them to come to me to ask for anything.”

Kobbie Mainoo’s future remains the subject of frenzied debate. The academy graduate is stuck in the purgatory of being just below the standards that Amorim demands of a starter, but too good to let leave and expose a thin squad even further.

Joshua Zirkzee fits somewhere in that same spectrum. United’s desire to keep the Dutchman will be tested by reports of Roma’s concrete interest, yet the club’s testing fitness record may prove to be more decisive this month.

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Amorim Rules Out Eight Players for Leeds Derby

Bruno Fernandes’s injury leaves Man Utd light. / James Gill/Danehouse/Getty Images

It was good and bad news for Manchester United on the injury front. “No new issues,” Amorim revealed before quickly adding: “I don’t think anyone is going to recover.”

And so, United travel to the hostile setting of Leeds United’s Elland Road with the same eight absentees as they had for Tuesday’s dismal 1–1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers. Bruno Fernandes headlines the missing persons list along with first-choice centre backs Matthijs de Ligt and Harry Maguire.

Mason Mount is still expected to be sidelined with an undiagnoses problem while Sunday’s fixture comes too soon for Mainoo—not that he would have much chance of starting anyway.

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United’s three Africa Cup of Nations representatives are all through the knockout stages, delaying their return even longer. Amad Diallo has been the standout figure for the Ivory Coast, scoring twice to help his nation finish narrowly above Bryan Mbeumo’s Cameroon.

Noussair Mazraoui has predictably started all three of Morocco’s group stage fixtures and discovered that the host nation are gripped in a state of perpetual angst, with any flicker from utter domination perceived as a glaring weakness.

United once held themselves to those lofty standards. Unless they begin the process of building yet another new squad, the search for those heights will surely drag on.

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