In his attempt to rebuild Manchester United, Ruben Amorim is facing a goalkeeping dilemma.

TPO - Ruben Amorim's efforts to revive Manchester United are becoming increasingly difficult, especially as all his endeavors are constantly at risk of being ruined by the lack of reliability in goal. However, he has no other choice but to rely on players who are causing problems.

For a period, Manchester United fans were frustrated by Andre Onana's constant selection as the starting goalkeeper. Since joining from Inter in the summer of 2023, the Cameroonian goalkeeper had made nine errors leading to goals conceded in all competitions, more than any other goalkeeper currently playing in England. Yet it wasn't until the match against Newcastle that manager Ruben Amorim decided to drop Onana from the squad, ending a run of 69 consecutive Premier League appearances.

Sadly, what happened in the 1-4 defeat at St James' Park justifies why Amorim, and before Erik Ten Hag, had to put their faith in Onana. They really had no better option. Altay Bayindir, the £4.3 million goalkeeper bought at the same time as Onana, was not the solution to their goalkeeping problems.

Against Newcastle, Bayindir made an unforgivable mistake by passing the ball directly to a Newcastle player (Joelinton), giving Bruno Guimaraes the opportunity to score the fourth goal. Before that, the 27-year-old goalkeeper also appeared confused about the second goal conceded. Of the six shots he faced, Bayindir only managed to save two.

Altay Bayindir made mistakes and conceded four goals in their Premier League debut.

Bayindir's passing skills were also very poor. He only completed 27 out of 57 passes, a 47% accuracy rate. No one on the pitch, not even Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope, passed the ball as badly.

Furthermore, Bayindir also bears responsibility for Manchester United's 3-4 defeat to Tottenham, which led to their elimination from the League Cup. Just as the Red Devils were rekindling hopes of a comeback after reducing the deficit to 2-3, the Turkish goalkeeper misjudged the situation, allowing Son Heung-min to score from a corner. In his embarrassment, Bayindir blamed the Tottenham player for the foul, only to receive a yellow card from the referee.

In the past, Manchester United always had some excellent options in goal. If Peter Schmeichel was absent, Raimond van der Gouw would fill the void; Edwin van der Sar always provided reliability, but Tomasz Kuszczak and Ben Foster were also good replacements; or in the David De Gea era, the reserves of Anders Lindegaard, Sergio Romero, and Dean Henderson were always ready to shine.

Onana and Bayindir, both of MU's goalkeeping options, carry inherent risks.

Amorim doesn't have that luxury now. Bayindir isn't a long-term starter to replace Onana, while Tom Heaton is only there to make up the numbers. Heaton has only made three appearances in goal in less important matches since returning to MU in 2021. At 38, his contract expires at the end of this season.

Therefore, it would be no surprise if Onana were to appear in goal again in the Europa League quarter-final second leg against Lyon. Amorim, as well as the fans, must pray that he doesn't repeat the two disastrous mistakes that led to goals conceded in the first leg, because this is the only competition that can offer a title and a ticket to Europe next season.

Many believe Amorim will look for a solution in the summer transfer market. Pep Guardiola's Man City and Juergen Klopp's Liverpool have both emphasized that building a successful team must start with the goalkeeper position, as demonstrated by the signings of Ederson and Alisson.

Ruben Amorim had too many problems to solve at MU.

The problem is, MU currently doesn't have the financial resources to spend freely. He could raise funds by selling Onana, but would any team be willing to spend tens of millions of pounds to bring in a goalkeeper who is prone to errors? And certainly, no top-class goalkeeper capable of solving MU's problems would be cheap.

Furthermore, the Portuguese coach has too many areas that need strengthening, even more urgently, from forwards and wingers to central midfielders and center-backs. The goalkeeper position is very important, but it's not certain that it will be prioritized.

With no solution for the long-term plan, nor an answer for the short-term problem, Amorim is truly stuck in the rebuilding of MU. For now, he still has to place his trust in Onana and hope for a significant change from him. In addition, he expects the defenders to play more solidly, instead of conceding 48 goals in all competitions, resulting in a win rate of only 37.5% since Amorim took over MU.

Thanh Hai

Source: https://tienphong.vn/phuc-dung-mu-ruben-amorim-mac-ket-trong-bai-toan-noi-khung-go-post1733757.tpo