Ahead of United's second game of the Premier League at Fulham, manager Ruben Amorim had a chat with the media discussing his goalkeeper situation, the 'bomb squad', Kobbie Mainoo and more.
There weren't any questions about whether Tom Heaton should be in goal 😅.
But we begin with the team news. Amorim says that we should be expecting the same squad as was against Arsenal with only Noussair Mazraoui and Lisandro Martinez being absent.
He did clarify similarly to last week, that no 1 Andre Onana will be available to face Full of ham: "[Andre] Onana is ready to play like last week, so we will see in the game who is going to be the goalkeeper."
I do believe that it is a tough choice for the manager. Do you go with shit? Or shit?
In a way, I feel like Amorim has put himself between a rock and a hard place. He says that Onana is ready just as he was last week yet didn't pick him against Arsenal, nor was he on the bench. Altay Bayindir played, cocked up and people thought that perhaps he should've picked the Cameroonian yet we all know that he too, could've made that same error as his Turk teammate.
Now, he's in a similar situation as Onana is ready but does he stick with Bayindir who was the reason we lost which may cause people to question his decision? Or does he go with Onana and have everyone question why he wasn't picked last week even though he was ready then?
Maybe he should try Big Tom Heaton 🤣. Third times' the charm and all 🤷♂️.
As for the bomb squad, the manager pretty much confirmed what we all know and that is that they want to leave. Amorim said that "it's not an idea that these guys are going to leave, to play in a different club and then we'll receive another player."
He added that they're not going to wait to see what happens but that the club aren't going to wait for one to leave and then sign a player.
All of Antony, Garnacho, Sancho and Malacia haven't been part of the United squad for some time and we know that they want to leave yet him saying that they aren't waiting for one to go in order to sign someone may hint that United might still do business even without sales?
If so, we need to move quickly because that deadline of September 1st is coming fast.
There has been a lot of talk recently about United agreeing personal terms with Belgian goalkeeper Senne Lammes [Alex Crook] which could suggest what Amorim is saying is true. That report also says that Onana is expected to stay even if Lammens joins.
I think for Amorim on the bomb squad, he doesn't care much about those players. For him, he just wants to get them gone if possible or he won't use them, in my opinion. More than anything, we need to remove them because they're bad apples. We cannot be having those mentalities in the squad anymore. I think INEOS want the same.
Amorim also spoke about the midfield and specifically Mainoo. The youngster was an unused substitute in the defeat last week which has caused fans to be worried about his future despite the talks of a new contract. On that deal, the manager said he "didn't hear any news about that" citing that that part (contract talks) is the job of Director of Football Jason Wilcox.
In regards to game time, he said that there's a "different way of playing" but that there will be chances for for the likes of Mainoo due to having to play many games.
Amorim mentioned how they are better and have more options now with the likes of Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko. He reiterated how he was happy with the team's performance against Arsenal pinpointing his side not losing possession in their build-up play.
Amorim was full of praise for fellow Portuguese manager Marco Silva mentioning how they are a tough team to face, one with a "clear identity."
Ruben Amorim | Image via Manchester United official X (@ManUtd)
Marco Silva | Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images via Football Italia