Paul Merson believes Ruben Amorim would be a ‘smash hit’ if he were managing Chelsea and not Manchester United, ahead of their Premier League clash.
Chelsea travel to Old Trafford on Saturday evening looking to continue their unbeaten start in the Premier League and inflict more misery on United.
The Red Devils have won just one of their opening five games of the season across all competitions, with rumours suggesting Amorim has just three games left to save his job.
The head coach insists he still has the support of Sir Jim Ratcliffe but his team have shown few signs of improvement since he replaced Erik ten Hag nearly a year ago.
Amorim was highly-regarded when arrived in Manchester after winning two league titles with Sporting Lisbon, where he boasted an incredible 71 per cent win ratio.
Get personalised updates on Manchester United every day
Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro’s Football Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link so we can send you football news tailored to you.
His preferred 3-4-3 system has been widely debated since he took the reins, with United’s players struggling to adapt to his tactics which he insists will not change.
Merson says this will inevitably lead to Amorim’s downfall but thinks that the Portuguese could be a successful Premier League manager if he had a better squad – like Chelsea’s – at his disposal.
‘I don’t see him lasting too much longer. He’s stuck in his ways,’ the Arsenal legend told Sky Sports.
‘He’s done an unbelievable job at Sporting. He’s got one of the best jobs in the world of football and he got that for one reason: for playing the way he did at Sporting.
‘He believes in the way he plays and if he gets the sack, he’ll go to another club, play three at the back and be successful. If he had gone to Chelsea, he’d have been a smash, he’d have been a hit, amazing, 100 per cent.
‘Chelsea have the players to play three at the back. They’ve got wingbacks in Malo Gusto, Marc Cucurella, Reece James, even Pedro Neto could play there.
‘They’ve got players who can get up and down. They are two of your most important players when you play three at the back.
‘Then he’s got two holding midfield players, whether that be James playing with Moises Caicedo or Romeo Lavia when he’s fit. Then you’ve got Enzo Fernandez and Cole Palmer with Liam Delap or Joao Pedro up front, there’s so many options.
‘You look at this Man United team and it’s just not made for three at the back, and that’s the problem. If he had gone to Chelsea – don’t get me wrong Enzo Maresca’s doing a great job – it would have suited the way he wants to play.’
If Amorim were to take charge of Chelsea he would be in for an awkward reunion as the Blues signed Alejandro Garnacho from United over the summer after the winger fell out hard with Amorim.
Maresca says the Argentina international could made his first start for the club at Old Trafford, but when asked about his former player, Amorim insists he couldn’t care less.
‘Garnacho is not our player, I’m focused on our players,’ the Red Devils boss bluntly said in his pre-match press conference.
‘I’m really happy with Mason [Mount] and [Matheus] Cunha returning. The rest, talk to the Chelsea manager.’
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
