Manchester United

Manchester United

Premier League • England

Man Utd told to secure blockbuster signing of superstar with Amorim’s top January transfer priority named

New Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim next to the Manchester United badge - image copyright of TEAMtalk

Ruben Amorim is planning squad changes at Manchester United

Ruben Amorim has been told he may need to go back on his promise not to raid Sporting Lisbon in January, with Manchester United urged to bring in Viktor Gyokeres to save themselves from a relegation dogfight and with one prominent pundit explaining why the Portuguese has been left stunned by the Red Devils squad he has inherited.

The 39-year-old Portuguese coach is now 10 games into his reign at Old Trafford, but having tasted defeat in five of those matches, and claiming just the four wins in that time, Amorim now holds the record as having made the worst-ever start by a Manchester United manager in a staggering 93 years. And with matches against in-form Newcastle, Liverpool and Arsenal next on the horizon, it promises to get worse before it gets better for the stricken Red Devils.

Astonishingly, a failure to pick up some much-needed points in the next few matches could see United sucked into a relegation battle, with the club currently sitting 14th and just eight points clear of the drop zone. Amorim has already admitted that survival is the main objective this season.

With the club not having much money to spend and having to keep a careful watch on PSR, United may need to sell before they can buy in the winter window.

However, Alan Shearer has told the club they may need to throw caution to the wind and spend big bucks to bring Gyokeres to Old Trafford if they are to turn their season around.

“Where do you start?” Shearer said in an interview with the Daily Mirror when asked how Amorim goes about fixing Man Utd and steering them away from the lower reaches of the Premier League. “Without a doubt, United need a top striker, I’ve made my feelings clear on that for a long time now.

“They could go out and spend a load of money on Viktor Gyokeres, Amorim obviously knows him really well.

“He said that he wouldn’t go back to Sporting to take them out, but that may change. Ultimately, they need players all over the park, one of the important ones is the position I played in and for me, they need a top-class striker.”

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Amorim left stunned by level of Man Utd struggles

Shearer reckons Amorim would benefit hugely from two players in the Newcastle ranks whom they will come up face to face with on Monday evening in Bruno Guimaraes and Alexander Isak, though stops short of naming either as a realistic target and with work to be done on ‘every area of the side’.

“United fans might be looking at Bruno Guimaraes and Alexander Isak when they play at Old Trafford, and they’re going to want top quality players, but I wouldn’t say specifically those players, I wouldn’t have thought that Newcastle will be up for selling any of their top players this January,” Shearer continued.

“United have got talented youngsters there, but when you have that you also need a sprinkling of top quality, experienced players in and around them. Clearly, there aren’t enough of those at Old Trafford at this moment in time.

“There’s work to be done in every department at the club, hence where they are in the league and where they are a club at this moment in time.”

Shearer also feels Amorim – a two-time title winner with Sporting Lisbon – will have been left stunned by the poor quality of squad he has inherited at Old Trafford.

“Amorim has got to be given time and the finance, which he obviously needs,” Shearer added. “United may win an FA Cup or something else, but this season has to be given to him as time to suss out who he wants and who he doesn’t want.

“He’s probably already got a good idea of that, because of what he’s trying to do already. We’ve seen that he’s tried different personnel already. I know managers sometimes say things to protect themselves.

“But I think when he’s said ‘it’s probably going to get worse before it gets better and the club are probably going to have to suffer,’ what he means by that are results like the one against Wolves where they suffered.

“He has to be able to find out – and be given the time to ship out – who he wants to, and he’s going to have to do a few, there’s no doubt. I’d guess he’s really surprised at how poor they are, with the money they’ve spent.”

Latest Man Utd transfer news: Rashford options dwindle;  goalkeeper linked

Meanwhile, Manchester United have been linked with a move for Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen – and how much they would have to pay to prise the Netherlands international away from the Amex has also come to light.

News of the apparent interest in the 22-year-old comes amid claims that Amorim is open to the prospect of allowing Andre Onana to leave if a suitable offer comes in for the former Inter Milan goalkeeper.

Elsewhere, Marcus Rashford could find himself in Old Trafford limbo with another major suitor ruling themselves out the running for his signature, having decided any move is not financially viable. And with Atletico Madrid joining Juventus and Napoli in ruling out a move, a report has claimed the 27-year-old may be left with two unfavourable options if he is to secure a January move away.

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