Ruben Amorim drops hint over Manchester United selection decision as 'plan' confirmed

Evening Standard

·24 gennaio 2025

Ruben Amorim drops hint over Manchester United selection decision as 'plan' confirmed

Red Devils boss facing a dilemma for Fulham trip at a hugely important position

Andre Onana looks set to come back into the Manchester United side for Sunday’s Premier League trip to Fulham.

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The Cameroon international’s status as United’s first-choice goalkeeper has once again been called into question of late after his latest error against Brighton last weekend that saw him make a mess of trying to collect a simple Yasin Ayari cross, allowing substitute Georginio Rutter to set the seal on a 3-1 victory that condemned the Red Devils to yet another home defeat.

Onana was subsequently replaced by deputy Altay Bayindir for Thursday night’s game against Rangers, with the latter having performed well again after proving the hero of United’s epic FA Cup third round win away at Arsenal earlier this month in which he made a string of crucial saves and kept out two penalties - one in normal time and another in the shootout that followed a 1-1 draw.

Many have questioned if Bayindir’s recent performances may have earned him the chance to stake his claim for a regular starting role in the Premier League, though manager Ruben Amorim insists Onana’s benching in Europe was pre-planned and nothing to do with his blunder against Brighton as he looks likely to come straight back into the starting XI for this weekend’s clash at Craven Cottage.

"It's always an even fight but this was rotation, (it) was prepared,” Amorim said about his goalkeeper switch in the Europa League. “I also think about the mistake and then the idea I send to you guys and the fans but the rotation was done, everything was prepared and we deal with that normally.

"We have two really good goalkeepers, they need time to play, they need the space in the team, so this rotation was prepared. But that mistake was my concern but, in the end, we continue with the same plan that we did last week."