Ruben Amorim Faces Manchester United Again in Pre-Season Friendly
Ruben Amorim and Manchester United meet again on Saturday, and the setting could hardly be more awkward.
Seven months after INEOS cut short a stormy 14-month spell with the Portuguese coach, Amorim walks out with AC Milan in Poland to face the club that sacked him after that explosive Elland Road press conference. No trophies, no farewell, just a cold split. Now comes the first handshake.
Kick-off is 15:45 UK time. For a pre-season friendly, this one carries plenty of baggage.
Carrick’s last dress rehearsal
For Michael Carrick, this is not about sentiment. It is his final tune-up before the Premier League opener away to Hull, and the closest thing yet to a statement XI.
Senne Lammens is expected to keep his place in goal. In front of him, Harry Maguire returns as the organiser and voice of the backline, a role Amorim helped restore after the defender’s career had begun to drift.
With Lisandro Martínez and Matthijs de Ligt still sidelined, Carrick has a choice to make next to Maguire. Leny Yoro offers pedigree, but Ayden Heaven is pushing hard and may edge it, a young English centre-back trusted in a high-profile rehearsal.
On the right, Diogo Dalot is locked in a renewed duel with Noussair Mazraoui. Dalot looks set to get the nod again, while on the left Luke Shaw barely has a challenger. That spot remains his to lose.
Mason Mount’s absence shapes the midfield. New arrivals Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos are poised to anchor the double pivot, a blend of experience and energy, with Bruno Fernandes operating ahead of them as the creative hub and emotional barometer.
Up front, the injuries continue to bite. Benjamin Šeško is still not ready, so Bryan Mbeumo should once more lead the line. That opens the right flank for Amad Diallo, who enjoyed his most convincing spell in a United shirt under Amorim. On the left, Matheus Cunha is expected to replace Patrick Dorgu, cutting in to support Mbeumo and link with Fernandes.
Probable Manchester United XI (4-2-3-1): Lammens; Dalot, Maguire, Heaven, Shaw; Tielemans, Santos; Amad, Fernandes, Cunha; Mbeumo.
Old allies, old wounds
When Amorim scans that United team sheet, he will see as many familiar faces as familiar arguments.
He left behind two compatriots in Fernandes and Dalot who thrived under his guidance and are likely to greet him warmly. Maguire, too, owes a portion of his rehabilitation to the Portuguese coach, who backed him when his United future looked bleak.
Amorim also holds a long-standing admiration for Amad. The Ivorian winger produced his best United run under the 41-year-old, finally looking like the player the club thought they had signed. Italian reports have already floated the idea of Amad following Amorim to Milan at some stage. This meeting will only fuel that speculation.
Not everyone will be pleased to see him.
On Carrick’s bench, a different group remembers January very differently. Marcus Rashford sits at the front of that queue. Once the face of United’s attack, he was pushed to the margins during Amorim’s tenure and eventually out of the picture entirely. Now, fate lines up the possibility of Rashford’s first United appearance in more than 18 months coming against the manager who almost drove him out of his boyhood club.
Kobbie Mainoo has his own score of sorts. Under Amorim, he was reduced to a peripheral role, a promising talent stuck watching from the sidelines. Since Carrick’s arrival, Mainoo has exploded, turning from bench option into central pillar. Every confident touch he takes now is a quiet rebuttal of the choices made at Carrington last season.
Then there is Harry Amass. The young defender was once used, along with Chido Obi, as an example by Amorim when discussing struggling United academy products. The comment did not land well. Both players later posted thinly veiled responses on social media before quickly deleting them, but the sting lingered.
Those threads all converge in Poland: admiration, resentment, unfinished business. For Amorim, this is just a pre-season test with a new club. For several in red, it feels like a chance to rewrite a chapter he helped close.
