Ruben Amorim starts work at Man United this month, so what could his strongest starting XI look like?
Ruben Amorim will officially start work at Manchester United in seven days.
Amorim was appointed as United's head coach last week and must serve a notice period at Sporting Lisbon before touching down in Manchester during the international break.
The 39-year-old will have just under two weeks to prepare for his first game in charge against Ipswich Town and it will be fascinating to see which players make his first line-up.
Amorim has played with a 3-4-3 formation at Sporting. He has enjoyed success with that system and is expected to implement his philosophy at United, who currently lack identity.
With that in mind, we asked our writers to pick the line-up they believe is Amorim's strongest and their answers suggest there are tough decisions to make on some senior players.
Pick the team
Samuel Luckhurst
The timing of Leny Yoro's return to full fitness could turn out to be perfect. United have to aim to have him available for the Ipswich game because he has to be a starter in Amorim's defensive trident. Yoro should be on the right and Lisandro Martinez on the left with Matthijs de Ligt sandwiched between them.
Kobbie Mainoo and Manuel Ugarte is the obvious midfield duo. The wings are tricky in that United cannot be too gung-ho or too cautious. Noussair Mazraoui has outperformed Diogo Dalot quite comfortably and reinventing Amad as a pure left winger is worth a go.
Much of Amorim's first six months as head coach will be trial and error. United do not have an abundance of attacking options but Bruno Fernandes has to start as one of the two '10's. How Alejandro Garnacho adjusts to that narrower role will be key but Ebrechi Eze and Michael Olise did it under Oliver Glasner at Crystal Palace earlier this year. Rasmus Hojlund is the obvious choice at the tip of the arrow for now.
Steven Railston
It's easy to forget United signed Yoro in the summer. He's been absent since fracturing his metatarsal in pre-season and has the quality to excel playing in a back three under Amorim.
Yoro, De Ligt and Martinez are the strongest back three on paper, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Maguire force his way into the side, which might be at the expense of De Ligt. The former United captain was brilliant when playing in a back three for England and that experience will be invaluable.
Although Ugarte and Mainoo is the logical midfield pairing, it means Fernandes has to start in one of the forward roles, which could mean either Garnacho or Rashford are dropped.
To avoid that, I'd start Mazraoui at right-wing back and Garnacho at left-wing back. Hojlund would lead the attack in my team and Rashford would feature from the left, which is his best position. I think Rashford's performances have improved this term, and he deserves a place in the side.
We've become so accustomed to United playing a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3 that Amorim's formation will make matchdays fascinating, as there will be 'big players' named on the bench.
George Smith
United's strongest back three under Amorim could be fairly easy to predict. Yoro was signed as a player with an enormous amount of potential and the Reds will be hoping he can hit the ground running once he recovers from his injury.
Presuming Amorim deploys a system that features wing-backs, Mazraoui and Dalot will be eyeing up those two positions. Luke Shaw will also aspire of reclaiming his place in the team once he recovers from his injury nightmare.
However, because of the prospect of United fielding a two-man midfield, it means Fernandes' role could be tweaked, forcing him out wide.
With that said, Mazraoui could occupy the left wing-back berth, with Fernandes operating from the right. The latter is tactically versatile and would drift inside to pick up pockets of space when United have the ball.
It means Garnacho and Rashford would be able to continue as United's first-choice wingers, supporting lone frontman Hojlund. Garnacho is too attack-minded operating as a wing-back.
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