Rúben Amorim’s most significant issue last season was a lack of time with Manchester United’s players on the training ground.
As Manchester United continue to navigate the transfer window, Rúben Amorim is already laying the groundwork for the 2025/26 Premier League season.
Pre-season gets underway in mid-July, with five matches lined up. It begins with a trip to Sweden to face old foes Leeds United at the Strawberry Arena.
United will then travel to the United States to take on West Ham, Bournemouth, and Everton, before returning to Old Trafford for a final friendly against Fiorentina, now home to former United goalkeeper David de Gea.
The Premier League have confirmed that United will start their season with a blockbuster fixture against Arsenal at Old Trafford on Sunday, 17 August, kicking off at 16:30 BST.
Ten players set to undergo their first pre-season with United
The last time a United manager was able to undergo a full pre-season with most of his squad available was Erik ten Hag in 2023, as there was no international tournament that summer.
However, even some of those who signed for the club that year were unable to take part due to signing late in the transfer window, with André Onana and Rasmus Højlund being examples.
While Onana was on pre-season for the summer of 2024, Højlund missed out due to his involvement with Denmark in EURO 2024 and the injury he then suffered in the United States, meaning the coming summer will be his first full pre-season, despite signing two years ago.
Leny Yoro also missed the 2024 pre-season due to an injury in the same fixture, against Arsenal, while Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui, and Manuel Ugarte did not sign until August, once the team had returned.
Although Joshua Zirkzee signed earlier in the window, he missed out on pre-season due to his time with the Netherlands at Euro 2024.
Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu and Ayden Heaven have become integral parts of Amorim’s squad and will embark on their first pre-season with the club after joining in January, with Chido Obi in a similar position, having signed for United late last year.
Matheus Cunha will also be involved after joining from Wolverhampton Wanderers for a £62.5 million fee earlier this month. Although not counted in this list, the same may become true for Bryan Mbeumo if he completes his move from Brentford in time.
This summer will fix the crux of Amorim’s problems
Last season, it seemed as though some of United’s players were unsure of their roles on the pitch, which Amorim was questioned about in press conferences.
As the head coach put it, a major factor in the inconsistent performances was that he had little time on the training ground with his players, so teaching them, such as a vastly different set of instructions, once he came in to replace Ten Hag, was difficult.
Amorim only held four complete training sessions with his squad during his first six weeks in charge, and as United headed to the Europa League final last season, they were playing twice a week, so had little time to train as the campaign progressed.
However, with his full squad bar the injured Lisandro Martínez set to report to Carrington on 7 July for the first day of pre-season training, Amorim finally has access to both his complete set of players and time to train them, as well as access to hopefully a few new faces.
If the crux of Amorim’s issues have been that he has not had time with his team and that his individual players have suffered from a lack of consistent pre-season training, the 2025 build-up to the next campaign could do wonders for the head coach.
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