Man United head coach Ruben Amorim will have a potential selection dilemma to try and solve in 2025/26.
Predicting how Manchester United’s starting XI will look come the opening weekend of the season in August is currently anybody’s guess.
United are hoping to oversee a hive of transfer activity this summer, featuring both incomings and outgoings, meaning it is currently impossible to predict the starting XI head coach Ruben Amorim will select for the season opener against Arsenal at Old Trafford.
The Reds have already secured the signature of Wolves star Matheus Cunha, signing him for £62.5million earlier this month after triggering his release clause, and are now in hot pursuit of Brentford attacker Bryan Mbeumo.
United are prioritising strengthening their attacking department this summer after finishing a second successive Premier League campaign with a negative goal difference. In addition to signing Cunha and wanting to secure Mbeumo’s signature, United also want to sign a striker.
After missing out on Liam Delap to Chelsea, United are yet to settle on an alternative striker target. They are being linked with a plethora of names, but until they can get players off the books and raise funds via sales, they are unlikely to get their hands on the No.9 they so desperately need.
At the other end of the field, however, United are in desperate need for fresh blood. With the expectation of trying to recruit a new goalkeeper, no other defence signings are expected.
In truth, United are very well-stocked in defence. Once Lisandro Martinez returns from his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, head coach Ruben Amorim will have five out-and-out senior centre-backs he will be able to call upon.
Furthermore, Noussair Mazraoui and Luke Shaw, despite building their careers as natural full-backs, are also equally capable playing as centre-backs in Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 system.
After arriving from Bayern Munich for a £12.8m fee last summer, Mazraoui turned out to be United’s signing of the season. He made 57 appearances across all competitions, operating from a collection of different positions.
Often delivering a solid 7/10 performance, Mazraoui was often one of the first names on the team sheet. However, amid the likelihood of Amorim upgrading his squad this summer, there is no guarantee he will be a regular starter in 2025/26.
Fortunately, Mazraoui’s versatility means that he is not restricted to playing in just one role, and he has played as a right wing-back, a left wing-back and centre-back since United’s transition to a 3-4-2-1 system last November.
“It’s hard to see the best position,” Amorim said of Mazraoui in April. “His background is like a full-back, in a defence of four.
“So in our way of playing, he can play in different positions. I see him as one of the defenders in this moment, because of his quality, he can defend.
“He can play one against one, defending, attacking. So I’m seeing him with a future to play as a wing-back and as a centre-back.”
With Amorim prepared to play him either as a wing-back or as a centre-back, it does boost Mazraoui’s chances of earning more minutes next season than he may do if he was limited to playing in just one role.
Nevertheless, with competition for places set to be high at centre-back and at wing-back, particularly if United recruit Mbeumo, Amorim will have a selection dilemma to solve. However, it is one he will be only too glad to have.
2025-06-20 06:00:00
