Rúben Amorim ‘unconvinced’ by £85k p/w Manchester United star who is now “on trial” as Serie A clubs circle

One of Manchester United’s star players is now said to be “on trial” under Rúben Amorim after failing to impress the 40-year-old head coach at Old Trafford.

Rúben Amorim’s first two months as Manchester United’s head coach have been anything but straightforward following his appointment as Erik ten Hag’s successor.

Taking charge in mid-November, with United languishing in 13th place in the Premier League and managing just one win in the Europa League, the 40-year-old began implementing his vision to revitalise a struggling club.

On the pitch, there have been glimmers of hope, including impressive away victories against Arsenal and Manchester City. However, inconsistency remains a concern, with United losing seven of their first 17 matches under Amorim, alongside eight wins and two draws.

Off the pitch, Amorim has had to contend with significant challenges, including United’s precarious financial situation and ongoing speculation over the futures of key players such as Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, and others.

Højlund on trial after failing to impress

According to talkSPORT, amid United’s goalscoring troubles, striker Rasmus Højlund has reportedly not been impressing Amorim in recent weeks.

The Danish international, who earns £85,000 a week at United, has failed to score in his last 11 appearances at the club despite scoring five in his opening five appearances under the Portuguese coach.

According to the report, Amorim has been “far from convinced” about the player United signed for £72 million in 2023 and that Højlund will “effectively find himself on trial” between now and the campaign’s end.

Amid Højlund’s failings, Serie A sides Napoli and Juventus are among the clubs keeping an eye on his developing situation at Old Trafford.

What Amorim said about Højlund

Højlund failed to register a single shot during United’s latest fixture, where it took a deflected strike from Lisandro Martínez to secure a 1-0 win away from home, and the striker was said to have a “nightmare” performance.

After the tie, Amorim was asked for his thoughts on Højlund’s current form, to which he replied: “He wants it really hard, and you can see it sometimes that without training, there is a disconnection.

“We can explain, but without training sometimes it goes away, when he should be near, sometimes he’s near when he should make a run. We don’t have time to make this connection, we don’t train these kinds of things, we just talk about these things.

“He has a lot to improve, like his team-mates. Sometimes you have a good game, other days you cannot have a good performance. The important thing is that I see every day that he wants it really bad.

“He talks about that [he] wants to train a little bit more in the end of trainings and that is the best thing to improve. But as a footballer, and he’s a young guy, he has to understand that sometimes you have a bad game, but you have to continue to go to the next.”

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