How Man Utd’s line-up has changed in Ruben Amorim’s first 50 games after £166.3m overhaul

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has had a very difficult start to his time at the club but has also overseen a lot of changes at Old Trafford.

Amorim changed the formation to a 3-4-2-1 system after replacing Erik ten Hag in November 2024 and a 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town was his first game in charge.

The 40-year-old has since used the transfer windows to overhaul the playing squad and recently took charge of his 50th United game as his side beat Sunderland 2-0.

We’ve taken a look at how the United line-up has changed between those two games.

GK: Andre Onana > Senne Lammens (£21.7m)

Onana arrived at United with high expectations following his impressive performance for Inter Milan in the 2023 Champions League final, but he endured two error-strewn seasons at Old Trafford.

Amorim dropped the Cameroon international for Altay Bayindir at the start of the current campaign before letting him join Trabzonspor on a season-long loan deal.

United paid up to £21.7million to sign Lammens from Royal Antwerp on transfer deadline day, and the 23-year-old enjoyed an impressive debut against Sunderland.

READ MORE: Senne Lammens hailed for transformative debut and gets Thibaut Courtois’ approval

RCB: Noussair Mazraoui > Leny Yoro

Mazraoui initially played as a right-back under Erik ten Hag following his move from Bayern Munich but moved to the back three in Amorim’s first game.

Yoro also joined United in the same summer in a deal worth up to £58.9million but missed the start of the 2024/25 campaign after suffering a foot injury in pre-season.

Since returning to full fitness, the 20-year-old has established himself as United’s best option on the right of a back three.

CCB: Matthijs de Ligt

De Ligt reunited with Ten Hag at Old Trafford but has gone from strength to strength under Amorim, making himself one of the first names on the United teamsheet.

LCB: Jonny Evans > Luke Shaw

An injury to Lisandro Martinez led to Evans being named in Amorim’s first team, but he struggled to adapt to the manager’s new system.

“[Omari] Hutchinson was always in the dead space, Jonny Evans should be pressing his guy, but when we don’t have the training and it’s hard to see say all the reactions to the players,” Amorim said after the game.

The former Northern Ireland international made just two more appearances under Amorim before hanging up his boots at the end of the 2024/25 season.

Martinez suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in February and Amorim is now playing Shaw as a left centre-back as part of his back three.

RWB: Amad

A winger by trade, Amad operated as a right wing-back in Amorim’s first game and has since made a permanent transition to that role.

CM: Casemiro

Despite working with Manuel Ugarte at Sporting CP, Amorim has continued to select Casemiro as his first-choice defensive midfielder.

United did try to sign a long-term replacement for the Brazil international in the summer and were interested in Carlos Baleba but were ultimately put off by Brighton’s £115million asking price.

CM: Christian Eriksen > Bruno Fernandes

After starting against Ipswich, Eriksen was used sparingly by Amorim for the rest of the 2024/25 season and was allowed to leave Old Trafford on a free transfer.

Fernandes was initially one of the No.10s in Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 formation but has since been pushed into a deeper midfield role.

“Of course, Bruno wants all the freedom in the world,” Amorim said. “But even when he plays in a No.10 role, he’s getting the ball back. Maybe he’s not having the same freedom to get inside the box, but he’s getting there and he’s near the box and he can do his shots.

“I think it’s a position that I want Bruno more deep, to have more possession, to try to control the game more – and we’re doing that.”

LWB: Diogo Dalot

Dalot is a natural right-back but started at left-wing-back against Ipswich Town due to Amorim’s lack of potential options in that area.

United tried to address the issue by signing Patrick Dorgu in the January transfer window in a deal worth an initial £25.2million and £4.2million in potential add-ons.

But the Denmark international has struggled to make an impact at Old Trafford and Amorim moved Dalot back to left-wing-back for the Sunderland game.

R10: Bruno Fernandes > Bryan Mbeumo (£71m)

As mentioned above, Fernandes initially played in a more advanced role under Amorim before dropping back into midfield.

United identified Mbeumo as one of their priority targets for the summer transfer window after he netted 20 Premier League goals for Brentford in 2024/25.

They made two unsuccessful bids for the Cameroon international, which would have been worth £55million and £62.5million respectively.

But United finally secured his signature by returning with a third offer worth an initial £65million plus £6million in performance-related add-ons.

The 26-year-old winger has made a promising start to his United career and set up their opening goal in the 2-0 win over Sunderland.

ST: Marcus Rashford > Benjamin Sesko (£73.6m)

Despite scoring the first goal of the Amorim era, Rashford was deemed surplus to requirements by the manager and spent the second half of last season on loan at Aston Villa.

He trained separately from the first-team squad in the summer before joining Barcelona on a season-long loan deal, which includes an option to buy for £26.2million.

United switched their focus to a new centre-forward after buying Mbeumo and fought off competition from Newcastle to sign Sesko from RB Leipzig.

They forked out an initial £66.26million and another £7.36million in potential add-ons, making him the fifth-most expensive signing in the club’s history.

The Slovenia international went six games without scoring at the start of the season but has since found the back of the net in back-to-back games, including United’s second against Sunderland.

Look at that leap 🤯🇸🇮

🤳 @Snapdragon x #ShotOnSnapdragon pic.twitter.com/2DGzyP4zCZ

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) October 4, 2025

L10: Alejandro Garnacho > Mason Mount

Alongside Rashford, Garnacho also fell out of favour under Amorim and was part of the ‘bomb squad’ in the summer.

The Argentina international completed a £40million move to Chelsea and United had a ready-made replacement after triggering the £62.5million release clause in Matheus Cunha’s Wolves contract.

But Cunha is yet to produce his best form in a United shirt and Amorim is a big fan of Mount, who returned to the team against Sunderland and scored the opening goal.

READ MORE: The EIGHTEEN Man Utd players that have brutally dropped in value since Ruben Amorim took charge