Manchester United face a season-defining game next week as they gear up for their Europa League final against Tottenham and Ruben Amorim faces some tough decisions on his starting XI
Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund faces an anxious wait to learn if he will start Wednesday’s Europa League final against Tottenham. Hojlund has struggled leading United’s attack this season, scoring just 10 goals, and toiled again in Friday’s abject 1-0 defeat at Chelsea.
Ruben Amorim is working out his best line-up to beat Spurs in Bilbao, with the United boss considering dropping Hojlund on the bench.
The return of Amad from injury has given Amorim greater attacking options and the United boss is said to be considering starting him against Spurs.
That could see Hojlund displaced from the starting line-up, with captain Bruno Fernandes potentially playing as a false nine, supported by Amad and Alejandro Garnacho.
Another option, which Amorim has already tried this season, would be to play Kobbie Mainoo as a false nine, with Fernandes deployed deeper.
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Amorim has yet to decide on his starting line-up, with three training sessions left before the £100million make-or-break showdown in Spain, with the winners earning a place in next season’s Champions League.
But Amorim is keen to retain the central midfield partnership of Casemiro and Manuel Ugarte, which proved effective in the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the Europa League.
Ex-Red Devils boss Roy Keane delivered a scathing assessment of Hojlund in the wake of the Chelsea defeat, United’s 18th in the league this season.
Keane said: “They’ve got no striker. Hojlund looked like he’d just come out of the academy. His runs weren’t right, his timing, his hold-up play. Again, if you’re a striker playing for United – even for the whole team – one shot on target?’
“We keep making excuses for him. We talk about confidence, but you still think, when you’re a striker, you have to make something happen sometimes.
“What the big clubs have – and what United have always had – is strikers who can produce something for themselves, even if they’re not getting great service.
“They produce something because they have quality, a bit of determination, a bit of experience, football intelligence. We don’t see that with Hojlund.”
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