Manchester United could reportedly be more likely to promote homegrown wonderkid Bendito Mantato now that Ruben Amorim has come in as manager.
The Portuguese tactician has just made the move from Sporting Lisbon to replace Erik ten Hag as the main man in the Old Trafford dugout, and that will inevitably mean plenty of changes to the team.
One key new theme we could see under Amorim is Man Utd perhaps using wing-backs, which is expected to benefit Mantato as he can play in that position on either flank, according to the Manchester Evening News.
The Red Devils have often promoted their academy players, with Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo among their recent success stories, so could Mantato be the one to watch next?
Still only 16 years of age, it’s probably a bit soon to be expecting the youngster to make an immediate impact under Amorim, but the MEN report does suggest that Amorim’s arrival will have given a boost to his first-team hopes.
Will Ruben Amorim use wing-backs at Manchester United?
Much has been made of Amorim’s tactical approach, with his system of using three centre-backs and playing with wing-backs rather than full-backs clearly working very well for him during his time in charge of Sporting.
This, however, is not a system that has traditionally done very well for Premier League clubs, with Antonio Conte’s 2016/17 Chelsea side one notable exception.
It will be interesting to see if Amorim sticks with this system or adapts to the players he has, who will have been mostly brought in under Erik ten Hag with the Dutchman’s tactical approach in mind.
Still, Amorim could do well to stick with his philosophy and to try to make it work for United, just as he did with Sporting.
That could require more new signings to fit in with that formation, but in Mantato they also clearly have some homegrown solutions they can turn to as well.
