Manchester United and Ruben Amorim have key advantage only Chelsea can compete with
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More infoThere hasn't been much to shout about at Manchester United this season but there have been small crumbs of hope to hold on to in recent weeks.Following on from their worst ever Premier League campaign last season, where United finished eighth under Erik ten Hag, they have fallen even further away from the heights of the Sir Alex Ferguson era.Ten Hag was sacked in October and Ruben Amorim has set about rebuilding the squad in his image, but that hasn't come without short term pain.United are 13th in the table, were beaten in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup and were knocked out of the FA Cup earlier this month. Their only hope of silverware this season, and a passage into European football next term, is success in the Europa League.Thanks to their win over Real Sociedad in the last 16, is isn't an unrealistic possibility that they could end one of the worst seasons in the club's history on a positive note.After initial turbulence under Amorim, results have started to turn. The last time United tasted defeat inside 90 minutes was on February 16 away at Tottenham.Seven matches have elapsed since then, and while the penalty shootout defeat to Fulham came inside that run, a two-legged win over Real Sociedad, as well as wins over Ipswich and Leicester and a solid draw with Arsenal point to things slowly starting to turn in the right direction.It has offered United supporters, who adorned Amorim with a chant to the tune of Bonnie Tyler's 'It's a Heartache' in the away end at the King Power stadium last time out, a slither of hope about the future of the club under their Portuguese manager.And that belief will only be bolstered by the recent CIES Football Observatory study on 'planned-for-the-future squads'. The teams of 37 leagues around the world have been ranked according to the percentage of ‘minutes secured’, looking at the share of the current season’s domestic league minutes played by footballers still under contract with a duration beyond the year 2026.United boasted an 86.4 percent rating, ranking them seventh in Europe, a total only bettered in the Premier League by Chelsea who topped the rankings with 91.8 percent of minutes secured.There are currently only six players in the United squad whose contracts expire in the next 18 months. Veterans Tom Heaton and Jonny Evans are out of contract at the end of this season, alongside Christian Eriksen and Victor Lindelof who are both expected to depart Old Trafford in the summer.Casemiro and Harry Maguire are out of contract at the end of next season and will be 34 and 33 respectively. The rest of the squad are on longer term deals meaning United have futureproofed their squad better than 18 of their Premier League rivals.That can also come with its problems with players they may struggle to shift on but, on the whole, they have their best players tied down for many years to come and any clubs wanting to prise them away from Old Trafford would have to pay healthy sums to do so.In times where United are going to be tight against any FFP restrictions in the transfer market, that could prove to be vital.---Here at the Manchester Evening News, we’re dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester United coverage and analysis.Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest United news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe.You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.And finally, if you’d rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Manchester is Red podcast, featuring The Samuel Luckhurst Show and The Midweek Debate. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and you can also watch along on YouTube.
Most Popular
