The five players Ruben Amorim must sign at Man Utd to save his job

Muhammad Butt
  • Updated: 28 Aug 2025 11:33 CDT
  • 7 min read
Man Utd Ruben Amorim Gianluigi Donnarumma Alexander Prass
© IMAGO

Man Utd desperately need to improve after three games without a win to start the season.

Manager Ruben Amorim is coming under fire after their abysmal showing in the Carabao Cup against Grimsby where they were eliminated on penalties.

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But the Portuguese coach will know that the Man Utd squad isn't fit for purpose and he needs five new signings in order to turn things around and save his job.

The Red Devils have already spent considerably this season, however all of that money went on the attack. However as the three games have shown so far this season that's not much use if the ball never actually gets to the attack.

So what are the five signings Man Utd must make to turn things around? FootballTransfers has got you covered!

GK: Gianluigi Donnarumma

Man Utd need a goalkeeper. In truth while every signing they could make and have made are helpful, but the only signing they well and truly honest to goodness needed to make this summer was in goal.

The opening day defeat to Arsenal only happened because Altay Bayindir was so miserably weak in the air that he palmed a Declan Rice corner onto the head of Riccardo Calafiori. This led to Fulham targetting him on gameweek two, making every corner for the Cottagers into a tension-riddled moment.

Andre Onana is the worst goalkeeper in the history of Man Utd.
© IMAGO - Andre Onana is the worst goalkeeper in the history of Man Utd.

And that's nothing compared to Andre Onana, the Cameroonian catastrophe handed Spurs the Europa League last season and in his first appearance against Grimsby this campaign gifted the League Two side two incredibly soft goals before saving just one penalty out of 11 faced in the shootout.

Man Utd are linked with young Belgian stopper Senne Lammens, but he's just a boy and ill-prepared for the cauldron of chaos that is keeping goal for Man Utd.

No, the only man on the market with a mentality capable of handling these horrors is Gianluigi Donnarumma. He proved his mettle all through Italy's victorious Euro 2020 campaign (including in the final shootout against England at Wembley) and again during PSG's run to finally win the Champions League.

Donnarumma is the mentality monster Man Utd need in goal.
© IMAGO - Donnarumma is the mentality monster Man Utd need in goal.

He'd cost around $58 million, but his wages would be the real concern. However United cannot afford to dilly dally. They need his excellence, so just pay the man what he wants and pray he's happy to live in Cheshire.

RCB: Taylor Harwood-Bellis

On the face of it Man Utd are well-stocked with defenders, even with Ruben Amorim playing three at the same time.

However when you watch United play, you see that only three of them are any good, which has a crippling effect on their ability to play football.

Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt, bozo moments aside, are solid defenders. However they can only really playing in the middle of the back three.

Leny Yoro is often deployed on the sides of the back three, but he is not suited to playing here. Under Amorim these wide centre-backs are the principle playmakers and ball-progressors, they have to be brilliant passers or the team simply doesn't function.

Leny Yoro is not a brilliant passer.

Oh, he can rip off a nice crossfield ball every game for sure, but fizz a 10-15 yarder between the lines into his attacking midfielders? No chance.

The amount of times Yoro had the ball against Arsenal and Fulham and was just standing there, begging an easy pass to appear, was infuriating. He does not take the kind of risks with the ball that Amorim needs, especially against the Premier League's litany of low and medium defensive blocks.

United have the same problem on the left, but Lisandro Martinez will soon be fit again and, as one of the world's best ball-playing centre-backs, will more than fix the problem there. But on the right there is no solution.

Enter Taylor Harwood-Bellis.

A product of the Man City academy, he has been drilled in how to play out from the back since childhood. He knows the angles and has the ability and willingness to let those fizzed through-balls rip.

Harwood-Bellis would be a superb addition to the back-line and would allow Leny Yoro to play centrally where his defensive excellence, particularly at sweeping, would be put to full use and his ball-playing woes would be limited.

CDM: Lucien Agoume

It's clear Man Utd need another body in midfield. Manuel Ugarte is not up to the task, getting run off the pitch by Grimsby to cap off disastrous cameos against Arsenal and Fulham. Meanwhile Casemiro is great but just once a week and only for 60 minutes.

Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo are both competing for one playmaker spot, according to Ruben Amorim, and so what United need is another defensive player to compete with and/or relieve Casemiro.

They tried to sign Carlos Baleba but he was too expensive, so French U-21 international Lucien Agoume presents himself as a superb alternative.

Physically imposing, he also has superb defensive instincts and ability, knowing where and when to make key interventions to protect his team. And with a release clause of just $35 million, he wouldn't break the bank either.

RWB: Andrei Ratiu

Amad is an excellent little dribbler. The way he carries the ball, especially from that wing-back position, is devastating for opponents to try and defend. Once he works out his chemistry with Bryan Mbeumo then United will have a dangerous right-flank.

But what if he's injured? Or if he's not getting it done in a game? Well you'd have to sub him, but who takes his place?

Diogo Dalot? Can't dribble.

Noussair Mazraoui? Can't dribble and isn't particularly quick.

Bryan Mbeumo? He can dribble but not like Amad and also you want him in the 10 spot.

They need an actual back-up/alternative at right-wing-back who can carry the ball superbly so the style doesn't have to change dramatically.

Andrei Ratiu is a Romanian wing-back who, last season in La Liga, completed 76 take-ons. That was fifth overall in the division and is more than any Man Utd player, including new signings Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, completed in the Premier League last year.

Ratiu is an imperfect player, for sure, his use of the ball could be frustrating. But he is a big body defender with the ability to beat his man off the dribble. That alone would make him tremendously useful in Ruben Amorim's system and an excellent back-up to Amad.

LWB: Alexander Prass

On the left of that midfield, Patrick Dorgu is a quality wing-back. He's a solid defender and, when released into space, has a good cross and cutback on him.

However he's not going to dribble. Like, at all. Watching him 1-v-1 with a defender is as painful as watching Leny Yoro in space with the ball at his feet waiting for an easy pass.

It's just so much standing around.

Man Utd need a left-back who can dribble with the ball and thus doesn't need complex passing patterns to release them into space so they can cross or shoot.

Most players who can do that and defend with enough competence to play wing-back are untransferable, but Alexander Prass over at Hoffenheim could be an underrated gem.

The Austrian has the athleticism to cope with the physical demands of playing wing-back, and has the dribbling technique and skill to absolutely "create his own shot" when left 1-v-1.

Prass is a player of immense tactical intelligence, possessing a keen vision that means he's even comfortable drifting into central areas with the ball. He'd be a quality alternative to Dorgu, so they wouldn't have to do as they did against Grimsby and use either Diogo Dalot or Mason Mount as a wing-back.

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