Manchester United have struggled beneath Ruben Amorim to this point. The Purple Devils have to this point been led in 21 matches by their new supervisor, however have managed to win simply ten of these video games, dropping 9 occasions and drawing two alongside the best way.
There have been some extremely disappointing defeats in there, too. They embody a 2-0 defeat away from residence towards Wolverhampton Wanderers and a loss by the identical scoreline at Outdated Trafford towards Crystal Palace.
There have been some excessive factors, together with a win away to Manchester Metropolis and a draw at rivals and Premier League leaders Liverpool.
Nevertheless, they may now be with out the person who scored the essential targets in these video games, Amad.
Amad’s influence beneath Amorim
In a season of big disappointment for the Purple Devils, one of many solely good issues has been the performances of Amad. The Ivorian ahead was described as “unstoppable” after his Derby Day heroics by United legend turned Sky Sports activities pundit Gary Neville.
Regardless of a huge impact within the tenure of former supervisor Erik ten Hag, Amad discovered alternatives sparse beneath the Dutchman. Nevertheless, that can’t be stated for his time beneath Amorim. The Portuguese supervisor seemingly loves the attacker, and has, at occasions, relied on him to dig his facet out of a gap.
In 20 appearances beneath the previous Sporting CP boss, the United quantity 16 has managed six targets and 5 assists, with 9 of these coming in video games the place his facet received or drew. Amad’s contributions have been large this season.
So, for United to be with out Amad for the remainder of the season, is a large blow. Amorim confirmed final week that the Ivorian broken his ankle ligaments and can miss the rest of the marketing campaign.
It leaves the Portuguese supervisor with the unenviable process of discovering an in-house alternative.
Maybe the reply may lie in United’s ever-productive Carrington academy.
United’s in-house Amad alternative
Sunday afternoon’s 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur was a memorable day for a number of of United’s academy gamers. Amorim named eight of them on the bench, bringing Chido Obi onto the pitch for the ultimate throes of the sport, for his first-team debut.
Nevertheless, the answer to his Amad drawback might not lie within the gamers he chosen on Sunday afternoon in North London, however within the type of Shea Lacey, an attacker who was not concerned towards Spurs.
Lacey is an attacking participant who’s held in excessive regard and is believed to have a “enormous future forward”, in line with soccer expertise scout Jacek Kulig. The teenager has struggled with accidents in the previous few months however is lastly again to full health and taking part in weekly for United’s academy.
His report for the Purple Devils youth facet is spectacular. He has performed 30 occasions for the under-18s and the under-19s within the UEFA Youth League, scoring 5 targets and grabbing seven assists in that point.
Identical to Amad, Lacey is a left-footed proper winger, who excels within the half areas and has distinctive shut management. He’s additionally snug slicing inside on his left foot and attempting his luck from vary, as this strike towards Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2023 reveals.
The Liverpool-born winger is a participant who can have a huge impact in a brief area of time. His stats on Sofascore from a 26-minute cameo towards Galatasaray within the UEFA Youth League final season present this.
In that brief time, he created one huge likelihood and received 4 out of seven floor duels.
Lacey stats vs. Galatasaray u19s | |
|---|---|
Stat | Quantity |
Minutes performed | 26 |
Touches | 20 |
Go accuracy | 78% |
Passes accomplished | 7/9 |
Possibilities created | 1 |
Huge probabilities created | 1 |
Assists | 1 |
Stats from Sofascore | |
Maybe Lacey is the answer to changing Amad. He’s of the same profile and excels in the identical areas of the pitch as United’s Ivorian winger.
At 17 years of age, he’s maybe too younger to be thrown into the deep finish and begin each week, however alternatives off the bench could also be there.
Lacey definitely looks as if a participant United followers can get enthusiastic about. Who is aware of, possibly a first-team debut is not too far out of the image.
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