Ruben Amorim will need his Man Utd players to adapt. (Image: Getty)
Ruben Amorim will demand that his Manchester United players adapt from their roles under , starting against Ipswich Town on Sunday, according to Leicester City and hero Alan Smith. A new era commences at Portman Road this weekend when Amorim takes charge of United for the first time.
The Portuguese coach has spent this week attempting to instil a new vision into his new squad on the training pitch at Carrington.
He is widely expected to transfer his trademark 3-4-3 system from Sporting after turning the Lisbon giants into serial winners and the most prolific goalscorers among Europe’s top leagues.
Ten Hag stayed true to his 4-2-3-1 formation that sporadically transitioned into a three-at-the-back shape in possession.
Amorim’s version promises to be more defined, with players receiving clear roles to stick to with and without the ball.
And Smith believes supporters can expect to see something different from United in East Anglia this weekend, an exciting projection after months of misery.
“Players will be asked to adapt. I think they’ve got central defenders that can play in a three,” Smith told Express Sport on behalf of AceOdds.
” has played there for the Netherlands and Bayern Munich. Harry Maguire has done it for England, [and] Martinez can do it.
Man Utd will look very different at Ipswich. (Image: Getty)
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. Read our
“And then it’s a question of working out your wing-backs. Dalot certainly can act as a wing-back on either side. It’s a slight change of system.”
Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui have operated as United’s first-choice full-backs this season amid Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia’s continued injury absence.
Amorim is unlikely to start both in his system. At Sporting, he developed a winger – 17-year-old Geovany Quenda – into an inverted wing-back tasked with supporting his attack.
Alejandro Garnacho, Amad and Antony could all be in contention to fill that role unless Amorim opts to stick with two natural full-backs until he recruits the required profile of player.
The new United head coach also uses two inside forwards, one of whom is a natural attacking midfielder – a role tailor-made for club captain .
Smith is confident Amorim’s fresh ideas will spark an immediate improvement across the United squad after Ruud van Nistelrooy’s successful interim stint.
He added: “Often, a new manager comes in, and he’ll see something in the player that the previous manager hasn’t.
“I think he can get improvement fairly quickly out of that team. You’ve seen what Van Nistelrooy has done in a short space of time.
“It’ll be fascinating to see that new shape in action and who he uses in those positions. I think he’s got enough quality to kind of formulate a decent first 11 there.”