{"id":638073,"date":"2025-12-17T12:07:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T12:07:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/638073\/"},"modified":"2025-12-17T12:07:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T12:07:12","slug":"man-utd-loser-kobbie-mainoo-74m-flop-among-six-victims-of-new-red-devils-under-ruben-amorim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/638073\/","title":{"rendered":"Man Utd loser Kobbie Mainoo, \u00a374m flop among six victims of new Red Devils under Ruben Amorim"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ruben Amorim has had more than his fair share of critics in his first 13 months in charge of Manchester United, and he is supposedly far from safe despite there being improvements this season.\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The under-fire boss deserves credit for ensuring Man Utd<\/strong><\/a> are in a better place than they were when he arrived, though this does not make up for the bleak mess of last season.<\/p>\n

Their positive transfer business has contributed to their improvement, though they have been hamstrung by Amorim<\/strong><\/a> stubbornly refusing to waver from his flawed 3-4-3 formation.<\/p>\n

So, it is refreshing that Amorim has made a U-turn on this stance, with the Man Utd boss trialling a 4-3-3 system in training to combat the absence of Bryan Mbeumo, Amad Diallo and\u00a0Noussair Mazraoui during the African Cup of Nations.\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

We were treated to a glimpse at what Amorim and his players have been working on against AFC Bournemouth on Monday night, with the head coach\u2019s tweaks contributing to Man Utd\u2019s best attacking display in the past year.<\/p>\n

There were teething issues as Man Utd were woeful defensively, which is to be expected with Luke Shaw and Ayden Heaven as a makeshift centre-back partnership. But they will be far more solid once they have preferred options available, while Mbeumo, Diallo, Matheus Cunha, Mason Mount and co. can continue to flourish.<\/p>\n

It is clear that Amorim\u2019s squad is more suited to a four-man defence than his preferred system, and he should stick with this set-up for the long term, but there will be victims (six, to be exact) of these changes. Here are the expected losers as the new Man Utd arrives\u2026<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Patrick Dorgu<\/p>\n

Amorim reportedly feels Dorgu has \u2018best in the world\u2019 potential,<\/strong><\/a> but his first full season at Man Utd is proving difficult following his \u00a329m move from Lecce in January.<\/p>\n

His underlying stats prove that he certainly is not the \u2018dud\u2019 he has been accused of being<\/strong><\/a>, but the more experienced Diogo Dalot \u2013 who is less suited to the wing-back role \u2013 has often been preferred on the left flank this season.<\/p>\n

Dorgu definitely has the attributes to grow into a great player for Man Utd, but he is currently pretty raw, and Amorim\u2019s move to a back four does not benefit him.<\/p>\n

The 21-year-old is stronger in the attacking half than Dalot, but his teammate is more suited to playing as a traditional full-back, as he is more reliable in his own half. Therefore, he is likely to further cement himself on the left for as long as Amorim adopts a four-man defence.<\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0Manchester United might need transfer policy change as Garnacho problem threatens to strike again<\/a>
<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kobbie Mainoo<\/p>\n

His brother might be a d*ck<\/strong><\/a>, but Mainoo had a rare positive night against Bournemouth as he had a very commanding 30-minute cameo off the bench. Or did he?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

He was Man Utd\u2019s deepest midfielder after replacing Casemiro and, especially with his ball progression, did a fine job.<\/p>\n

But Mainoo should not get too excited; he benefited from Man Utd needing to chase the game, and another natural No.6 would typically replace Casemiro, who is still preferred to play alongside the Englishman\u2019s main rival, Bruno Fernandes.<\/p>\n

So, with Manuel Ugarte or United\u2019s next marquee signing to replace Casemiro, Amorim preferring Fernandes as his partner and with other No.10s also favoured, Mainoo\u2019s situation is unlikely to change with his side\u2019s formation, and he should still get himself a move in January.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Benjamin Sesko<\/p>\n

United\u2019s hit rate with their summer signings has been uncharacteristically high, with Sesko currently the only standout candidate to be a mega-flop as Mbeumo, Cunha and Senne Lammens impress.<\/p>\n

It is no coincidence that the Red Devils\u2019 best displays this season have come when Sesko has been missing from their forward line as Mbeumo and Cunha spearhead their attack.<\/p>\n

As for Sesko, it is far too early to fully write him off, and he has the necessary natural attributes to eventually prove himself at Old Trafford, but, in the meantime, versatile attackers are needed for the best results in this fluid system.<\/p>\n

MORE MAN UTD COVERAGE ON F365\u2026<\/strong>
*\u00a0Real Madrid \u2018will pay\u2019 \u00a379m for Man Utd sub as INEOS warn midfielder over \u2018harming\u2019 value<\/strong><\/a>
*\u00a0Amorim \u2018requests\u2019 January transfer from Man Utd as Romano reveals Tyler Adams truth<\/strong><\/a>
*\u00a0Why Ruben Amorim sees Kobbie Mainoo as a \u2018liability\u2019 in moments<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Luke Shaw<\/p>\n

Monday\u2019s game versus Bournemouth was the latest in a string of poor games for Shaw this season, with Gary Neville not pulling any punches in his assessment of the declining defender.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Shaw\u2019s ability to play at wing-back or as an inverted centre-back was expected to make him a big winner of the Amorim era, but this is not panning out.<\/p>\n

It looks as if injuries have caught up with Shaw. So, Dalot remains the firm favourite to continue at left-back, while the England international has no chance of continuing at centre-back in a back four after Monday night either. There\u2019s no wonder he\u2019s among the five doomed Man Utd players in 2026.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0Who is in the wrong between \u2018hurting\u2019 Bruno Fernandes and uncourageous Manchester United in \u00a3100m row?<\/a>
<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Manuel Ugarte<\/p>\n

A hallmark of Amorim\u2019s reign at Man Utd has been his honesty and willingness to publicly criticise his players, with Ugarte recently being a victim of this policy.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Unlike the Man Utd youngsters needlessly caught in the crossfire<\/strong><\/a>, Ugarte has deserved all the criticism he\u2019s received as the club\u2019s \u00a342m investment has proved massively misjudged.<\/p>\n

Ugarte was once a favourite of Amorim, but he has been reduced to being a bit-part player under United\u2019s boss and often makes his side worse when introduced. New system or not, he should be gone next year and be replaced by Carlos Baleba\/Elliot Anderson.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Joshua Zirkzee<\/p>\n

Reports suggest otherwise, but Zirkzee should be rueing missing out on a transfer in the summer. He had the opportunity to follow in rejuvenated Rasmus Hojlund\u2019s footsteps in shining back in Italy but instead, he\u2019s been left to rot on the United bench.<\/p>\n

Zirkzee was better than Hojlund last season, but he is definitely stronger as a No.10 than a No.9 and is inferior to Man Utd\u2019s other options, new and old, in the supporting role.<\/p>\n

The best he can hope for is that his standing at Man Utd remains unchanged as Amorim\u2019s changes, which do not benefit him at all, are implemented. His future clearly lies elsewhere.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ruben Amorim has had more than his fair share of critics in his first 13 months in charge…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":638074,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4100],"tags":[5758,14146,94,225,12243,98,122477,101,99,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-638073","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-benjamin-sesko","9":"tag-f365-features","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-home-page","12":"tag-kobbie-mainoo","13":"tag-manchester-united","14":"tag-popular","15":"tag-premier-league","16":"tag-ruben-amorim","17":"tag-sports","18":"tag-uk","19":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115734829184907644","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/638073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=638073"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/638073\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/638074"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=638073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=638073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=638073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}