Man Utd star tipped to be dropped by Ruben Amorim immediately – 'He might struggle'

Ruben Amorim has been tipped to make a daring move by benching one of Erik ten Hag’s go-to men in his early days at the helm of Manchester United.

Casemiro, who sealed a big-money transfer from Real Madrid to United in 2022, has been indispensable for Ten Hag over the last couple of years.

Yet, Liverpool icon Mark Lawrenson believes that the 32-year-old Brazilian might find himself sidelined under Amorim due to a perceived lack of pace.

Speaking to Paddy Power, Lawrenson remarked: “I think the whole Manchester United squad will benefit from Ruben Amorim’s arrival. I don’t do stats, but I bet you that all their stats will be better this weekend than they have been [all season].

“It’s just one of those things. It’s going to take a while to decide how they’re going to play. He obviously wants to press but they won’t be able to do it straight away because they’re not used to it.

“You’d look at Casemiro and think that if they’re going to press and get up the field quickly, that won’t be his ideal way of playing and I think he might struggle. He has played better of late, but they’ve got a new manager, and he might decide to drop him because he doesn’t have the legs.”

However, Lawrenson has tipped Harry Maguire to reap the rewards of Amorim’s tactics, as the expected shift to a 3-4-3 setup should open more doors for him. “If Harry Maguire knocked on Ruben Amorim’s door, he’ll have a look at him and see what he’s got,” Lawrenson added.

“With every player – and there’s lots of them – he has to look at each one, but in the meantime, he must get results. If Harry Maguire plays as the middle of Amorim’s back three, he’ll be comfortable.

“It’s just that he doesn’t have that half a yard of pace. Amorim might think he can put him in the middle with two guys either side who have legs and see how they go. I can see Ipswich causing Manchester United problems, but I can’t see them beating them.

“It’s going to take a while for Ruben Amorim to stamp his authority in terms of the way they play. He speaks a lot of sense, and he’s addressed the ‘Manchester United problem’ as it were, but it’s going to be a while for him before he knows his best team.

“I still think they’ll win the game; I really do. If you listen to Erik ten Hag and you listen to Amorim, they are completely different. With Amorim, you’d want to play for him, but with Ten Hag, I’m not sure and that cost him his job.”