“None of their strengths are athleticism” - Danny Murphy names 3 Manchester United players who could be a problem to Ruben Amorim's tactics

Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy believes Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez, and Matthijs de Ligt could struggle under incoming Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim. The Sporting CP manager has agreed to take charge at Old Trafford as Erik ten Hag's successor on Monday, November 11.

The Premier League giants struggled to impress this season under the Dutch manager. Amorim's arrival at Manchester United could see a change in approach on the pitch, especially since the Portuguese tactician prefers a back-three.

However, Murphy warned that implementing Amorim's current defensive system at Old Trafford - despite its success at Sporting - could be a problem.

“It depends how you play the 3-4-3. You can play it pragmatically or can play it offensively. They've got lots of good players at Manchester United, international players, so they should be able to adapt and play all different systems,” Murphy told Boylesports.

“If he tries to mirror the Sporting team as it is now, they'll have problems. That’s because they play a high line, they go after teams, they push up and they dominate games and they score lots of goals and they make lots of chances," he continued.

Murphy concluded:

“Now if United play that way, I think they'll struggle because they haven't got great legs at the back. You think of Lisandro Martinez, Matthijs de Ligt and Harry Maguire with Leny Yoro injured. With those three I’ve mentioned, none of their strengths are athleticism and running back."

Manchester United are 13th in the Premier League with 12 points after 10 games.

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How many goals have Manchester United conceded this season?

Matthijs de Ligt

Manchester United strengthened their defense over the summer, beating Real Madrid in the race to sign Leny Yoro from Lille. The Red Devils also roped in Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui from Bayern Munich.

Unfortunately, Yoro picked up an ankle injury during pre-season and is yet to make his professional debut for the Premier League giants. De Ligt and Mazraoui, though, have been first-team regulars so far.

However, United's defense still looks shaky. The Red Devils have conceded 12 times in 10 games in the Premier League and 20 times in 16 games across competitions this season.

As such, new head coach Ruben Amorim could be tempted to plan for defensive reinforcements in 2025. However, he is likely to assess his options at Old Trafford before making a final decision.