Early Team News: Ruben Amorim makes two surprise decisions for Man Utd vs Ipswich Town

Ruben Amorim has made two surprise decisions ahead of his opening Manchester United fixture against Ipswich Town.

Manchester United face Ipswich Town at Portman Road on Sunday afternoon in his first Premier League game as the Reds’ head coach.

It has been a long-awaited introduction after he was announced by the club at the beginning of the month.

After staying at Sporting until the international break, he has now had just under two weeks to get his feet under the table at Carrington and Old Trafford.

The 39-year-old has spoken well in his first interviews and explained the approach that he wants to implement at the club.

With his first game approaching, it appears that the head coach has already made two surprising decisions for his squad to face The Tractor Boys.

According to youth expert AcademyScoop, the Portuguese boss has included 16-year-old centre-back Godwill Kukonki in the matchday squad against Ipswich.

Kukonki is a left-footed defender who can play in central defence and at left-back. He was included in first-team training at the beginning of the week and has clearly impressed Amorim.

United are also struggling with a couple of injury issues in defence, with Victor Lindelöf and Harry Maguire ruled out. Meanwhile, Lisandro Martínez suffered a knock before the international break.

Amorim also looks like he has re-introduced Tyrell Malacia to the matchday squad, with the Dutch left-back posting a hint to his inclusion on social media ahead of the game.

Malacia posted a preview graphic for the game on his X account, with the latest post beforehand being in July 2023, before his terrible injury issues began impacting him.

The left-back played for the Under-21s last week and it seemed likely that he would play more games for them before returning to the first-team.

However, it appears that he has proven behind-the-scenes that he is ready to return to the senior matchday squad earlier than initially expected.

It is likely that he starts on the bench but it would still be a great step in the right direction for a return to full fitness.

The game kicks off at 16:30 GMT, with full coverage of the game available on the UtdDistrict X account.

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