“He has to…” Alan Shearer explains what Manchester United must now do with Rúben Amorim

Alan Shearer has explained what he feels Manchester United must now do with Rúben Amorim following the conclusion of the 2025 winter transfer window.

Manchester United’s 2025 winter transfer window has sparked widespread criticism from fans after the club failed to address key weaknesses in Rúben Amorim’s squad.

United did strengthen their defensive options with the signings of Patrick Dorgu and Ayden Heaven, but the absence of attacking reinforcements has left supporters frustrated.

The club saw three first-team forwards depart on loan, with Marcus Rashford, Antony, and Ethan Wheatley all making temporary moves away. Several Academy players also left on loan in search of regular game time.

One positive from the window is the signing of highly rated young left-back Diego Leon. The Paraguayan talent will officially join United on 1 July after completing the season with Cerro Porteño.

What United must do with Amorim

Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, Premier League legend and former striker Alan Shearer has had his say on what the future now says for Amorim, explaining that following this window, the head coach has to be granted time and slack.

“I think for the rest of the season, he has to be given time,” the former goalscorer explained. “He’s never going to get a free pass, but I do think it’s so bad there that you have to cut him some slack in what he wants to do and is trying to do.

“It is taking a lot longer than probably he and everyone thought but, I think that’s because the problems are so deep-rooted at the club that it’s not going to be a quick fix.

“He has to be given this transfer window, the rest of the season to try and do what he wants to do and then the window in the summer to have a clear run at next season to get his team basically.

“It’s been a problem there for a while and someone has to be given the amount of time to sort it out. They’ve invested in him and his beliefs, and I think that’s the right thing to do.”

United’s players aren’t good enough

Continuing his conversation, Shearer explained that Amorim would ideally try and make small changes in order to get his team over the line in different games, but in the real world, the squad is not good enough.

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Ge said: “In an ideal world, you try to make the tweaks to win games but they’re just not good enough, they’re miles away from benign competitive, especially in the way he wants them to play.”

The truth about United is that even if the squad contains some fantastic individual quality, such as Bruno Fernandes and Amad, far too often, individual errors and lapses in concentration kill momentum.

United won five of their seven matches in January, but their two losses across 2025 so far have come against Brighton and Crystal Palace at Old Trafford in key Premier League fixtures, which is a big red flag.

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