“More or less…” – Five Man Utd players have solidified their places in Ruben Amorim’s ‘strongest XI’

Ruben Amorim has spoken about whether he knows his ‘strongest’ possible starting line-up at Manchester United yet and some players have already solidified their spots.

Manchester United’s new boss Ruben Amorim has led the team in four games so far. He has won two, drawn one and lost one.

Although results have not been perfect, Amorim is learning important lessons about his squad, who have made encouraging strides in adapting his new 3-4-3 system.

In the games so far, the 39-year-old has made many changes to his line-up. This is partly due to poor fitness levels but also because he wants to assess the entire squad.

The head coach revealed in his latest press conference that he is close to figuring out his strongest team.

“More or less, yes, we have an idea,” responded Amorim when asked if he knows what his strongest XI is yet.

“But then we have players returning and we have to manage the load. Bruno Fernandes, you feel it against Arsenal he was tired in the end, but you know he will recover in the end.

“If you talk about Manuel [Ugarte], I’ve known him for a long time and he needs a little bit more time.”

Of course, there is still time for players to impress Amorim and push their way into his ideal eleven, but others have already seemed to make that case.

The three obvious players who have impressed so far are André Onana, Noussair Mazraoui and Amad Diallo. All three have been very good in Amorim’s opening games and suit the way he wants the team to play.

Speaking on Mazraoui earlier this week, Amorim said: “I think he’s the future of our team, we need more players like Nous!”

Meanwhile, it has quickly become clear that Lisandro Martínez will also be a key player in this team going forward. In his two starts, the Argentine defender completed 168 of his 172 passes and showed his progressive qualities.

With Luke Shaw injured once again, it seems obvious that Martínez will be important for Amorim, who looks to progress the play through his wide centre-backs.

Finally, Fernandes is going to be a mainstay in Amorim’s team, but that could come in different roles. It seems like the head coach does like to adjust Fernandes’ position depending on the opponent.

This means that we are likely to continue seeing the club captain sometimes drop into the midfield two, while also playing a lot of games in the more familiar no.10 role.

Other players have impressed under Amorim and will be fighting for a starting spot, but it seems that, for now, these five have solidified their place in his ‘strongest’ team.

Make sure to follow UtdDistrict on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok to never miss out on any of our Manchester United content. Our podcast, What the Devil?, is released every Wednesday at 6 pm (BST) on the United View YouTube channel.