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Owen names Man Utd star who won’t play under Amorim as he predicts starting XI
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Owen names Man Utd star who won’t play under Amorim as he predicts starting XI

Michael Owen has predicted Ruben Amorim’s regular starting XI at Man Utd when he starts work at Old Trafford later this month.

The Red Devils moved quickly on Friday to appoint Amorim as successor to Erik ten Hag after the latter’s dismissal the previous Monday.

Amorim’s appointment has already excited Man Utd fans hoping to finally start fighting for Premier League titles again for the first time since 2013.

Man Utd are currently 13th in the Premier League after just three wins in ten matches, while only Crystal Palace and Southampton have scored fewer goals than the Red Devils.

And Owen predicts Amorim will stick to the 3-4-3 formation that worked so well for him at Sporting Lisbon, taking Man Utd away from a group of four.

Owen believes Matthijs de Ligt, Lisandro Martinez and Leny Yoro will make up their back three once the latter – who is yet to play a competitive match for the Premier League club – recovers from his injury.

Predicting Amorim’s Man Utd team, says Owen Premier League Productions: “I think this is an important position for Ruben Amorim.

“Amorim has a reputation for bringing that central defender into midfield a bit, so that player has to be decent on the ball.

“De Ligt and Martinez on both sides are aggressive defenders, they like to take on attackers, so that midfield player has to be good on the ball and Yoro fits the bill.

“I think if everyone is fit, it’s the bottom three he would pick.”

Some favorites under Ten Hag could be left out, with Owen saying the new Man Utd boss will likely go with Manuel Ugarte rather than Casemiro.

“He can only choose 11 players and we debated Ugarte or Casemiro, it was a bit of a draw between the two.

“But we just thought he would go with Ugarte because he has played under him before, that might just tip the scales in Ugarte’s favor.”

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Former Arsenal star Aaron Ramsey added: “They won the championship together at Sporting, Ugarte clearly understands the manager and will know what is expected of him in this position and in the formation he loves to play in .

“Casemiro has had a great career and is still a quality player, I’m sure he has more to come, but I think Ugarte is just ahead of him given the experience he’s had with him before. “

Owen believes Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford will be deployed as two number 10s behind the lone striker in Amorim’s squad.

The former Man Utd striker continued: “It’s important to mention that these two players play almost inside in a lot of his formations.

“They’re not necessarily wide players, so they come in and play more like number 10s and that works in Bruno’s favor.

“With these players coming inside, one might ask: Can Rashford play inside? I think he can. I think he has good vision.

“He won’t play any other way unless they end up playing him up front instead of Hojlund. I think Rashford will start but it will be in that more inside position.

Ramsey also gave his opinion on Rashford, he said: “Rashford has a lot of quality. Hopefully he will get a new lease of life under the new manager and can reach the levels he has in the past and be a bit more consistent.

“He’s an incredible player in his time. In this system, I think it can accommodate small pockets and small holes.

Andre Onana, Luke Shaw, Diogo Dalot, Kobbie Mainoo and Rasmus Hojlund make up the rest of Owen’s planned line-up when Amorim have a fully fit Man Utd team.