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Topics: Manchester United, Amad Diallo, Diogo Dalot, Football, Premier League, Ruben Amorim, Rasmus Hojlund
Luke Davies
Topics: Manchester United, Amad Diallo, Diogo Dalot, Football, Premier League, Ruben Amorim, Rasmus Hojlund
A Manchester United legend has told the club to potentially replace a player due to concerns about his defensive ability while branding another Red Devils star a “rabbit in headlights”.
Ruben Amorim’s Man United side must wait until Monday (December 15) to play in Premier League gameweek 16, having also featured in the Monday night game earlier this week, beating relegation-threatening Wolves 4-1 thanks to a Bruno Fernandes brace, while Mason Mount and Bryan Mbeumo also got on the scoresheet at Molineux.
The result left United in sixth, although heading into the weekend, just four points separate Crystal Palace in fourth and Newcastle in 12th.
Nonetheless, having finished a record-low 15th in his first season in charge, head coach Amorim will be satisfied with his side’s start to the current campaign.
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However, he faces the unusual challenge of losing two players mid-season due to the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations, which gets underway on December 21.
Top scorer Mbeumo will represent Cameroon and could be missing for up to a month, while Amad will also be unavailable for selection as he has made the Ivory Coast squad.
Noussair Mazraoui will also feature in the tournament with his native Morocco, where the competition will take place.
And while most United fans will see this as an inconvenience, former Red Devils defender Paul Parker has suggested that he harbours greater concerns about several areas of the pitch – namely about Amad at wing-back.
Speaking to GOAL, Parker, who made 146 appearances for Manchester United between 1991 and 1996, claimed that although Amad has “good bits” in terms of attacking ability that the Ivorian still worries him defensively.
The Englishman then named Crystal Palace wing-back Daniel Munoz as someone who has impressed him this term, with the Eagles star registering four goals and two assists in 23 appearances while being one of the first names on Oliver Glasner’s team sheet.
“You look at him at Crystal Palace, and he’s [Amad] not him,” said Parker.
“He can beat people one-on-one a lot more times, but you are looking at the longer game, the bigger picture, and Munoz will offer you more regularly than Amad does attacking-wise and defensively.”
It is unlikely United would sign Munoz, who is contracted to Palace until 2028, due him being 29, as signing players 25 or below appears to be a long-term recruitment strategy at the club.
Parker then homed in on the left flank and claimed that both Diogo Dalot and Patrick Dorgu are lacking in confidence before suggesting the latter looks like a “different player” when he’s on international duty with Denmark.
“There are too many players; we are seeing two of them at Napoli - not so much with Scott McTominay, but you saw it with [Rasmus] Hojlund that he just couldn’t evolve at Manchester United,” he added.
“Dorgu at this moment is like a rabbit in the headlights."
The Dane signed for United from Italian outfit Lecce in a deal worth £25 million in February of 2025, but has struggled to nail down a starting spot in Amorim’s side, starting just seven league games this season.