Amorim 'in relegation battle' as pundit blasts team selection

Former Manchester United star Owen Hargreaves has criticised Ruben Amorim for rotating his players too much and warned the Red Devils they are ‘in a relegation battle’.

Amorim has had a tough start to life at Old Trafford, with Man Utd losing their last three games and conceding nine goals in the process. The defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Thursday was particularly damning, as the West Midlands outfit have had a poor campaign so far but caused United all sorts of problems in a famous home win at Molineux.

Bruno Fernandes was sent off in the 47th minute after picking up two yellow cards, which gave Wolves the advantage. Matheus Cunha then scored from the corner spot as United goalkeeper Andre Onana was crowded out in the six-yard box, with Hwang Hee-chan later adding a second goal in stoppage time to make sure of Wolves’ victory.

Following the result, which leaves United 14th in the Premier League, Amorim admitted managers – especially those at Old Trafford – are always ‘in danger’. He added that United are in a ‘really hard’ moment as their fans want them to start winning as soon as possible.

Hargreaves has questioned why Amorim makes so many changes each week and claimed United would struggle to get a point ‘anywhere’ right now.

“I saw it coming before the game,” the pundit said (via Football365). “As soon as I saw the team, I said this won’t be easy. And it wasn’t. They don’t create any sense of play, they don’t look like scoring.

“Look, [Amorim] has got his way of playing. He has been successful there at Sporting, but right now, this team needs to find a way to get some form of results. Right now, they don’t look like they could get a result anywhere. This is a team that’s in a relegation battle.”

Hargreaves continued: “At some point, you need to watch Manchester United and know who’s gonna play. Right now, you never know who’s gonna play because there’s so many different players rotating all the time. I think for him, it would be a lot easier to say, these are my guys who are on form, these 14, 15, but right now, there’s nothing.”

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Man Utd will continue to ‘suffer’

On Match of the Day, Alan Shearer was asked to analyse the troubling situation facing Amorim. He said: “Results, issues off the field, Rashford.

“He [Amorim] said it himself, they’re going to have to suffer for a while.

“And they are, because clearly a lot of the players at that football club are not good enough.

“He has to be able to get rid of players and be allowed to bring players in who he feels can suit his system. But they are miles off it.”

It will be tough for United to get back to winning ways, too. They face Newcastle on Monday before coming up against Liverpool and then Arsenal, with the latter game an FA Cup clash.

READ MORE: Amorim hints at drastic Rashford decision, as Man Utd ‘strongest eleven’ comment made

Man Utd news: Updates on two strikers

Meanwhile, TEAMtalk can provide a double update on Amorim’s hunt for a new centre-forward at United.

The Red Devils have made a fresh approach for Victor Osimhen, though they are not expected to ramp up such talks ahead of a January move.

Osimhen wants to see out the campaign with loan club Galatasaray before re-evaluating his options in the summer.

Amorim wants to find a solution to his team’s goalscoring options in January and Randal Kolo Muani is emerging as a serious option.

Sources have confirmed to TEAMtalk that Kolo Muani wants to move to the Premier League, with Amorim hopeful that United can forge an agreement with Paris Saint-Germain.

Although, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal are all in the mix for the Frenchman, too.

Where will Rashford go next?

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