Rúben Amorim must stop ignoring one of his ‘game-changer’ stars and start him to unleash Bruno Fernandes against Newcastle on Sunday afternoon.
Manchester United are returning to Premier League action as they travel to face Newcastle at St. James’ Park on Sunday afternoon.
United, who sit 13th in the league table, have not scored in their last two fixtures in the competition but were able to net twice during a 2-2 Europa League draw with Lyon on Thursday evening.
While Rúben Amorim’s sides started to collect momentum ahead of the March international break, a loss against Nottingham Forest followed by draws against Manchester City and Lyon have once again halted their progress.
The upcoming tie against Newcastle will see the Reds face a team who are fighting for a place in the five Champions League qualification spots available this season, with Eddie Howe’s men sitting 5th in the league table.
Amorim must stop ignoring Mount
Since his return to the matchday squad in mid-March, Mason Mount has seen himself on the bench across all four fixtures.
However, with Amorim now lining his side up to face Newcastle, the head coach cannot keep ignoring United’s No. 7 and start him on Sunday afternoon.
Both Mount and Joshua Zirkzee were labelled as game-changer players when they came on against Lyon in midweek, with Zirkzee grabbing a goal and Mount adding a sense of calmness and urgency to United.
Amorim has already clarified that Mount is now fit and ready to play from the start, but he has continued to instead select him on the bench and only bring him on with 15 or 20 minutes left in fixtures.
While the Dutchman looks set to replace Rasmus Højlund as the striker on the weekend, there is also a debate to be had surrounding who Mount should replace in the XI if he starts against Newcastle.
Mount starting could unleash Fernandes
While the obvious like-for-like swap would be to see Mount start ahead of Alejandro Garnacho, who has been blasted for his performances against Nottingham Forest, Manchester City, and Lyon of late, it may be better for Mount to replace either Manuel Ugarte or Casemiro instead.
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Should Amorim choose to do this, it would allow Bruno Fernandes to drop back into a deeper role. The club captain has started further forward in the last two weeks, but once he dropped deeper against Lyon, he was immediately involved in the goals as he assisted Zirkzee.
Fernandes has been United’s main goal threat when he has operated as a deeper midfielder with the licence to roam forward. Should Mount start in the front three alongside Zirkzee and Garnacho, Amori will be able to unleash that version of Fernandes against Newcastle.
However, with Howe having a strong midfield trio of Joelinton, Bruno Guimarães, and Sandro Tonali at his disposal, Amorim may instead pick Casemiro and Ugarte to start alongside each other to engage in what will no doubt be a very physical battle at St. James’ Park.
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