'Disaffected group' of stars losing faith in Amorim, with immediate 'compromise' the 'only answer'

A section of the Manchester United squad are growing increasingly concerned about Ruben Amorim and his tactics, with one source even stating United’s rare wins aren’t thanks to the manager, a report has claimed.

Man Utd’s record since Amorim took charge stands at nine wins, three draws and nine defeats. There’s been no new manager bounce, with the Red Devils languishing in 15th place in the Premier League following their 1-0 loss to Tottenham on Sunday.

Amorim wasted no time implementing his customary 3-4-2-1 formation upon taking charge, despite not possessing players all that suited to the system.

A specialist wing-back in the form of Patrick Dorgu was provided in the winter window. Man Utd sought to give Amorim more reinforcements, but the club’s hands were tied thanks to their lack of wiggle room within the PSR boundaries.

A recent report from the Daily Mail claimed stars within United’s squad had held a players-only meeting to discuss the club’s continued struggles this season.

The end result of that meeting, per the report, was a belief Amorim must show more flexibility with his approach and ‘tweak’ his tactics and/or approach.

That update came prior to the defeat to Spurs in which Amorim’s set-up drew stinging criticism from Gary Neville.

“We just said about the distance between the two central midfield players. Look at where Casemiro is and where Bruno Fernandes is. That cannot be right. It breaks all rules in football. Look at them – absolute madness, that,” Neville said while commentating on the game for Sky Sports.

“They may score goals but the structure of the team is awful. The gaps in that midfield, that’s a tactical thing – they’ve been told to do that. Bruno Fernandes is playing right wing. It’s embarrassing.

“You wouldn’t see this in under-9s or under-10s football. There’s a reason for it. It’s because of what [Joshua] Zirkzee did against Newcastle when he kept having to come out to one side. What Amorim said is, ‘You stay in there’. But that means then it’s impossible for them two behind… that space in midfield there. It’s shocking.”

And per the latest update from the Mail, the ‘disaffected group’ within Man Utd’s squad are growing ever more concerned about Amorim.

The report claimed: ‘It is understood the disaffected group believe that even when United win, it is largely down to individual moments of quality or good fortune rather than a tactical triumph.’

The Mail then cited a ‘dressing-room source’ that doubled down on that outlook.

The Mail’s source was quoted as saying the feeling is usually: “We got away with one but we might not be so lucky next time.”

The most pertinent example cited was Harry Maguire’s offside winner in the 2-1 FA Cup victory over Leicester on February 7.

Replays showed Maguire was comfortably offside, though with VAR not used at that stage in the competition, the last-minute winner stood.

What is Man Utd’s stance on Ruben Amorim?

The report stressed that while a section of the squad are losing faith, there is no suggestion any amongst them are downing tools.

Furthermore, it was claimed there are no signs the club’s hierarchy are wavering in their support of Erik ten Hag’s successor.

However, the real test of whether Man Utd are concerned they’ve appointed the wrong man will reportedly come in the summer.

United unwisely backed Ten Hag in the market to the tune of around £200m last summer before removing him from power just a few months later.

The end result saw Amorim inherit a squad of players wholly unsuited to his system. The lavish summer spend also meant Amorim lacked the necessary funds to reshape the squad in his image in January.

The Mail concluded there will be ‘a little more [financial] leeway in the summer despite [Amorim’s] admission that he will have to sell before he can buy.’

How much Amorim is given to spend will be a sure-fire indication of whether United chiefs believe he is the right man to take the club forward.

Latest Man Utd news – Casemiro ‘bad news’, Quenda signing progresses

In other news, Man Utd’s highest earning player, Casemiro, has declared he intends to see out the remainder of his contract at Old Trafford in what’s been termed ‘bad news’ for the club by two separate outlets.

United were open to offloading Casemiro in each of the past two transfer windows, though concrete interest was scarce. Given Casemiro pockets £350,000-a-week at United, it’s easy to see why potential suitors were put off.

Elsewhere, reporter Ben Jacobs claimed Man Utd are progressing in talks to ‘pre-agree’ the signing of Geovany Quenda.

The Sporting CP sensation, 17, would line up at right wing-back if brought to Old Trafford in the summer. Quenda is understood to be keen on reuniting with Amorim.

Sporting value Quenda around the €60m/£50m mark. Man Utd believe Quenda is worth a more modest €40m (£33m).

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