Manchester United visit Craven Cottage on Sunday afternoon, and Rúben Amorim spoke about the four players who are training without the first team after not joining the pre-season tour.
Manchester United are hoping for a much better season than last campaign, where they finished 15th in the Premier League and lost the Europa League final. With no European football this season, full attention turns to the domestic competitions.
On the opening day of the season, Rúben Amorim’s side lost 1-0 to Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side due to an error from Altay Bayındır, who started ahead of André Onana and Tom Heaton.
United looked largely the better side, with new boys Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo impressing, and will be looking for three points from their first away game of the season.
Benjamin Šeško could be in line for his first start of the season since joining from RB Leipzig, replacing Mason Mount, who will be unlucky to miss out after his good performance against The Gunners.
Fulham were lucky to escape with a point against Brighton and Hove Albion, with a 90+7-minute equaliser from Rodrigo Muniz saving the game. The Brazilian will likely start against United.
Amorim reveals what could happen to the outcasts
While United are preparing for the Fulham clash, four senior players remain exiled from first-team training as they prepare for life away from Old Trafford after being left out of the USA pre-season tour squad.
Antony, Alejandro Garnacho, Tyrell Malacia, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford were all left in Manchester while the squad travelled to Chicago. The former No. 10 has been loaned to Barcelona, but the other four remain contracted to The Red Devils.
“I think again, I know that is not a good thing to have players in this situation,” said Amorim to the media at Carrington. “But it’s clear they want to play in a different club, and that is clear.
“So we try to arrange everything for both parts to be happy, so I have to try to imagine to have the training with the guys that I think are going to be the future and the other guys are training and preparing for the next chapter.
“When the window is closed, it’s a different story. When the window is closed, we have to receive the players and in a new life, anything can happen.”
Antony and Malacia could be good backup for Amorim
While Garnacho and Sancho have both had disciplinary issues at United, Antony and Malacia were merely deemed not good enough for the squad, but they could provide good backup for the first team if they can’t find a move away.
Malacia, who has played under Amorim despite his long-term absence, could be the second-choice left-wing-back behind Patrick Dorgu, allowing Diego Leon to settle into life in Manchester before playing for the senior side.
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Also, many fans believe that Antony would be a good fit for Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 system, representing a similar profile to Amad as a left-footed right winger with a good work rate.
The Brazilian could fill in for Amad if the manager wants to maintain an attacking style, rather than choosing a more defensive option like Diogo Dalot or Noussair Mazraoui.
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