Rúben Amorim disagrees with Paul Scholes’ assessment of Manchester United’s “most talented player”

Paul Scholes has said he feels Manchester United’s “most talented player” is causing a dilemma at the club due to his position changes under Rúben Amorim.

Rúben Amorim’s first three months at Manchester United have been anything but smooth since taking over from Erik ten Hag.

Appointed in mid-November with United struggling in 13th place in the Premier League and winning just once in the Europa League, the 40-year-old set out to stabilise and rebuild a club in transition.

There have been flashes of promise, including impressive away victories over Arsenal and Manchester City, but inconsistency has been a persistent issue, leaving some fans frustrated. In the Premier League, United have won just five of their 16 matches under Amorim.

Off the pitch, challenges have mounted. Three senior attackers left on loan during the winter transfer window without replacements arriving, while Lisandro Martínez and Amad have been ruled out for the rest of the season due to injury.

Beyond this, Amorim has, at times, struggled to firugre out which postions best suit his playesr due to the consistent injury issues and poor form shown by many in the squad.

Fernandes causing a dilemma at United

Speaking to TNT Sports ahead of United’s Europa League meeting with Real Sociedad, former United midfielder was asked about Bruno Fernandes and, more specifically, the position the Portuguese international has been playing.

Fernandes was deployed as a deeper midfielder against Sociedad, but Scholes explained he reckons the player is better when further forward, which is causing a dilemma at the club.

“Yeah, it’s a big question there. I think it’s a bit of a dilemma for everyone,” Scholes said. “I think, as a number 10, where I played quite a bit of my career early on, I think that’s his best position.

“But, when you play that position, you have to have a player in behind you, midfield, who’s clever enough to find you. I don’t think he’s got that. So now what he’s had to do, he’s had to go back and be that player who’s clever enough to link play. I think that just sums him up.

“Like, you say he’s got great… he’s the most talented player on this team. He can score a goal, he can make a goal, and he makes the team tick.”

Amorim disagrees with Scholes’ asessment

However, this is a viewpoint that Amorim disagrees with. The 40-year-old has been quoted as saying previously he sees Fernandes as most effective when playing in a deeper role.

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“You can feel that he is the most experienced player. The tempo, sometimes we start the play and Bruno is the right man to start the tempo of the play,” Amorim said after a Europa League tie against Bodo/Glimt in November.

“They [Bodo/Glimt] played with a back four. They closed inside, so we were trying to switch the play all the time and Bruno is the best one at doing that. So that’s why [he played deeper].”

Amorim then added, “I think he is a midfielder”, which suggested at the time that he may continue to use Fernandes as a deeper player in the pivot, which he has gone on to do many times.

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