Arsenal legend Martin Keown has raised concerns over Ruben Amorim’s handling of Manchester United’s struggling squad, particularly the underwhelming performances of summer signing Matthijs de Ligt.
United’s woes continued with a 1-0 defeat at Tottenham, leaving them languishing in 15th place in the Premier League. After promising results against Manchester City and Liverpool, Amorim’s bright start has quickly faded, with his tactical setup now under scrutiny.
Amorim has remained committed to the 3-4-3 system that brought him success at Sporting Lisbon, but many of United’s players seem ill-suited to the formation. One of the biggest concerns is De Ligt, whose confidence appears to be at an all-time low.
The £43 million signing looked particularly shaky in possession against Spurs, with one glaring moment in the second half seeing him needlessly put the ball out for a corner under little pressure.
Keown didn’t hold back in his criticism of the Dutch defender.
“Look at De Ligt—the amount of money they spent on him is almost obscene for a centre-half,” Keown said on talkSPORT. “He’s playing like a robot. There are times he can clear the ball, and instead, he just creates issues for the team. Amorim needs to empower him with confidence, and I’m not seeing any of that.”
De Ligt’s struggles come at a time when United’s defensive options are already stretched thin due to injuries. Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw, and Mason Mount are among the long-term absentees, while recent setbacks for Amad Diallo, Kobbie Mainoo, Manuel Ugarte, and Christian Eriksen have further depleted Amorim’s squad.
Following the defeat, Amorim admitted that the injury crisis has made his job significantly more difficult.
“I have a lot of problems,” the United boss said. “Right now, it’s about survival—improving small things game by game. We can’t even look at the table or the schedule right now.”
Despite the growing pressure, Amorim remains focused on stabilizing the squad.
“Our priority is keeping players healthy and recovering some key names. We’ll focus on each game as it comes and then look at the bigger picture,” he added.
With United’s European hopes fading and their defensive frailties exposed, Amorim faces a huge task in steadying the ship before the season spirals further out of control.