Ruben Amorim told to replace Jose Mourinho’s £19m Man Utd signing

Lee Sharpe has urged his former club Manchester United to replace one of their longest-serving players in the January transfer window.

Ruben Amorim is expected to bolster his United squad with one or two signings in January after a mixed start to the new season.

Amorim was fighting for his job at Old Trafford just a matter of weeks ago but three successive wins drastically improved the mood at the club.

Speaking last week, Amorim said he expected some of United’s fringe players to ask to leave when the transfer window reopens in January.

Kobbie Mainoo and Joshua Zirzkee are both struggling for game-time and reportedly want to leave Manchester United in the winter window.

While Amorim may be happy to sanction a couple of departures, he will not want to weaken his squad considerably or risk being exposed by injuries in the second-half of the season.

A few incoming signings are therefore expected at the Theatre of Dreams and Sharpe believes United should be in the market for a new full-back to replace Diogo Dalot.

Dalot has been a largely reliable presence in the Manchester United defence since his £19m move from Porto in 2018.

Jose Mourinho described Dalot as the ‘best young full-back in Europe’ when he welcomed his compatriot to the club but Sharpe believes he now needs replacing.

‘Both Diogo Dalot and Patrick Dorgu have struggled at left wing-back for Manchester United this season,’ Sharpe told Adventure Gamers.

‘I’ve always thought Dalot is a bit sloppy in his decision-making at times – he gives the ball away cheaply and gets caught out of position defensively.

‘I also don’t think he gets close enough to wingers when they’re crossing the ball, so there’s a few things in his game that I feel need improving.

‘I think it’s an area Manchester United would want to look at in January or next summer.

‘Dorgu looks like he could become quite a good player, but he’s had a couple of injuries and is a bit inconsistent with his form, so he’s not quite ready to be relied on just yet.’

Dalot is Manchester United’s second longest-serving player following Luke Shaw, who arrived at the club in 2014.

After sanctioning Dalot’s move to Old Trafford, then-United boss Mourinho said: ‘In his age group, he is the best full-back in Europe.

‘He is an extremely talented young defender with all the qualities to quickly become a great player for this club.

‘He has all the attributes that a full-back needs: physicality, tactical intelligence and technical quality, combined with a Porto academy mentality which prepares players for the maturity they need at the professional level.’

Dalot has made over 200 appearances for the Red Devils but is not rated as one of the best full-backs in the Premier League.

Amorim’s Manchester United are eighth in the table after Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest.

United’s recent revival has been helped by the form of influential summer signings Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha.

Discussing Mbeumo, who joined in a £65m deal from Brentford, Sharpe added: ‘he has been absolutely fantastic this season.

‘It’s not just his ability to create chances and score goals, but his awareness of what’s going on in the game is what has particularly impressed me.

‘He’s always involved the game in some way – he never switches off, and you can tell that he was previous Premier League experience.

‘His work rate is phenomenal as well – he’s always looking to run into gaps and create space for others. For me, he’s right up there with the best wingers in the Premier League at the moment.

‘He’s scoring goals and creating chances, and his stats stack up as some of the best in the division currently.’

Manchester United will hope to continue their encouraging run on Saturday when they face Tottenham, who were well beaten by Chelsea last time out.

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