Match Coverage
40 touches, 100% duels won – Bournemouth star shows what Rúben Amorim’s first Man Utd transfer must be
On Sunday afternoon, one of Bournemouth’s brightest stars showed Rúben Amorim precisely what his first Manchester United transfer move must be.
Manchester United have fallen to a shocking 3-0 loss against Bournemouth as Rúben Amorim’s men remain 13th in the Premier League table after falling short at Old Trafford.
The game started with both United and the visitors looking to dominate possession. Bournemouth struck first, with United conceding yet another set piece, courtesy of Dean Huijsen’s looping header.
Bruno Fernandes was particularly dominant during the closing moments of the first half, but to no avail. Amorim’s side went into half-time with a 1-0 deficit at their ground.
While Amorim made some positive changes to try and bolster United’s attacking line, Bournemouth kept true to their plan, with Noussair Mazraoui handing Justin Kluivert a penalty after 60 minutes, which he duly converted.
Then, a little over two minutes later, Antoine Semenyo added the visitors’ third goal of the afternoon, with a late push from United coming too late as Andoni Iraola’s men secured a stunning 3-0 win away from home.
Kerkez showed Amorim exactly what he’s missing
Although Justin Kluivert will be given his dues for a fantastic game at Old Trafford, one of their best players on the afternoon was 21-year-old left back Milos Kerkez.
Playing against an in-form Amad Diallo, Kerkez marshalled the electric forward brilliantly, barely allowing the Ivorian any space on the ball and locking down United’s right flank.
Kerkez had 40 touches of the ball, wining his one attempted tackle and clearing the ball fives times across his 90 minutes.
He performed 7 defensive actions and was not dribbled past the entire game, winning both of his attempted duels and committing no fouls despite playing at full-back.
Amorim’s first transfer move is now clear
Following Manchester United’s loss, Amorim’s first transfer move has become clear. Kerkez’s performance at Old Trafford was fantastic, and it’s shown Amorim that he must sign a new left-sided defender this summer.
United’s left wing-back for the first half, Tyrell Malacia, was hooked at half-time, with Leny Yoro coming on to replace him and Amorim choosing to move Diogo Dalot into left-back with Noussair Mazraoui on the right-hand side.
Clearly, the United head coach was not impressed with the Dutch defender’s display on the left against Bournemouth.
United know just how important a good left-back is, with Luke Shaw’s peak performances helping drive a great United side under Ole Gunnar Solskjær and Erik ten Hag’s first season, and Kerkez is a player who United haev ben linked to in recent months.
Even if United don’t look to sign Kerkez himself, his performance at Old Trafford, combined with the failure of Malacia or Dalot to lock down a place on the left flank, shows that Amorim’s first move must be to sign a new left-back.
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