Manchester United star who’s being ‘phased out’ alongside Marcus Rashford may start vs Newcastle

One of Manchester United’s stars is being phased out alongside Marcus Rashford, but Rúben Amorim could gift him a rare start against Newcastle United on Monday evening.

Manchester United are preparing to host Newcastle United on Monday evening at Old Trafford in their final match of 2024, as Rúben Amorim seeks to lift his team from 14th place in the Premier League.

A string of three consecutive defeats to Bournemouth, Tottenham Hotspur, and Wolverhampton Wanderers has left Amorim under growing scrutiny, with uninspired performances leading to mounting frustration among fans.

While the squad continues to adapt to the new 3-4-3 system, recurring issues with defending set pieces have plagued United’s form over the past month.

The festive fixture schedule presents a crucial chance to turn things around, and a home victory against Newcastle would offer a morale boost heading into the new year. However, the Magpies, brimming with confidence after their emphatic 3-0 midweek triumph over Aston Villa, will be tough opponents.

Casemiro may be handed a rare United start from Amorim

Amorim has a tough headache he must solve as United face Newcastle, as both Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte have found themselves suspended for the upcoming fixture.

Fernandes received a red card on Thursday evening after two yellow cards against Wolves, while Ugarte picked up his fifth yellow of the campaign in the league. Both players have been served with one-match bans.

Although there are multiple possible replacements for Fernandes in the left attacking midfield role, the same cannot be said for Ugarte.

While there is an outside chance that Amorim could play Toby Collyer in the deeper midfield position to see how the 20-year-old would cope with Premier League life, it’s more likely that Casemiro will be handed a start.

Casemiro has only started three times during Amorim’s first ten fixtures, and did not feature for three games in a row before he was thrown own against Wolves with 27 minutes left in the game.

As BBC journalist Simon Stone pointed out, up until he came on against Wolves, Casemiro had played the same number of minutes as Marcus Rashford, who has not been selected within the squad for two weeks.

This heavily insinuates that Casemiro is being phased out of United alongside Rashford as Amorim continues to make high-stakes changes to his United squad.

Casemiro tipped to struggle under Amorim

The Portuguese coach is left with little choice but to start Casemiro against Newcastle on MOnday evening, although the Brazilian has been tipped to struggle under the 39-year-old until the end of the campaign.

BBC Match of the Day regular Mark Lawrenson recently spoke to Paddy Power, and he admitted that he feels Casemiro is one of the few players who will not benefit from Amorim’s arrival.

“You’d look at Casemiro and think that if they’re going to press and get up the field quickly, that won’t be his ideal way of playing and I think he might struggle.

“He has played better of late, but they’ve got a new manager, and he might decide to drop him because he doesn’t have the legs.”

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