£47m Man Utd star has just given Ruben Amorim another headache he didn’t need

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim now has another transfer dilemma on his hands as he prepares to take his side to Newcastle tonight (Monday). Just over 24 hours before the January transfer window opens, United will kick off at St James’ Park trying to end a run of three straight Premier League defeats.

But regardless of the result, the Portuguese boss seemingly has much to do come January 1.

He’s immediately imposed his 3-4-3 style on the Red Devils, but it is clear new signings are needed with a number of players struggling to perform in the system.

And the last thing that the ex-Sporting man would have wanted was to be now considering the position of goalkeeper. After an erratic start to his career in England, Andre Onana improved under Erik ten Hag as the 2023/24 campaign went on, playing a crucial role in his side’s shock FA Cup final win over Manchester City.

But the form of both him, and No.2 Altay Bayindir, has given Amorim an unwanted headache – as has the fact a new report from the Daily Star claims Onana is unsettled at the club and is reconsidering his long-term future, which the United hierarchy are well aware of.

Since the 39-year-old began his tenure, he’s seen Onana make a number of high-profile mistakes, including letting Matheus Cunha’s corner fly straight over his head and into the net last time out against Wolves.

Earlier this month, in the 3-2 home defeat by Nottingham Forest, the Cameroon international was beaten by a tame shot from Morgan Gibbs-White. He followed that with an awful error in the Europa League game at Viktoria Plzen, his attempted pass intercepted for the opening goal.

Bayindir has hardly proved to be adequate competition either. The Turkish keeper turned in a terrible display in the 4-3 League Cup defeat at Tottenham, also beaten directly from a corner from Son Heung-min.

United are now reportedly lining up a move for Brighton keeper Bart Verbruggen. However, the Dutchman has more than three years left on his contract, and would not be a cheap solution to the club’s dilemma either.

And eyeing a new keeper is an issue Amorim does not need because he clearly has plenty of work to do elsewhere in his squad. That has been shown by their poor form across all areas of the pitch since he took over.

Amorim’s issue in goal was highlighted emphatically by BBC Radio 5 Live pundit Chris Sutton, who hit out at both keepers conceding from corners within a matter of days. “It really does not help when your goalkeeper keeps on conceding goals direct from a corner – that is under-12s stuff,” he said.

“I remember it happening when I was watching my son play when he was about 15 and he got done off a corner. I told him you would never see it happen to a professional goalkeeper, but it has happened twice in two weeks to Manchester United – first to Altay Bayindir and then Andre Onana. You could not make it up.”

United will also be looking to strengthen in a number of other areas. They currently lie 14th in the table following their worst ever start to a Premier League season, and have conceded 24 times in their 18 games.