The Ruben Amorim decision that could define Manchester United’s season

As he left Manchester United’s Carrington training ground on Wednesday, Altay Bayindir wound down the window of his car to pose for photos with supporters. He has attracted more attention of late. The cameras will be trained on the Turkey international again on Thursday night, but he will be found in the dugout. His reaction to any goalkeeping mishaps will be scrutinised.

Ruben Amorim had already confirmed that Andre Onana would return to the United team against Lyon. Whether he would have made that decision but for Bayindir’s error in Sunday’s defeat at Newcastle, only he may know, but the United head coach had to sound confident in the choice be made between goalkeepers who, between them, have been horribly culpable for three goals in a week.

“Sometimes we talk about managing players physically, we have to manage them also mentally but they have to return to competition,” he said, outlining why it is not merely enough to take the rested or dropped out of the firing line; they have to go back into it. “Onana is ready, he had one weekend that I felt it was better for him to not play and a good thing for Altay to play and this week my thinking was to put Onana to play.”

As Amorim admitted, it is a decision that could backfire, one that leaves him potentially open to criticism. “This is the big factor on being a coach: everything you do has two ways,” he said. “If he is going to be really good tomorrow, I am sure of that, but if it is the other way, people will say it is a bad decision.”

Onana, of course, was not good last week in Lyon. A 2-2 scoreline was testament to that. United approach the second leg without one of their scorers in France, with Joshua Zirkzee’s season ended by a hamstring injury, but with the man who cost them victory. If it makes Amorim’s decision to select Onana potentially season-defining, it could also be season-ending.

An exit would remove the possibility of a silver lining and render this United’s worst campaign since the 1980s. They are the only unbeaten team in the Europa League but, 14th in the Premier League, United have failed on other fronts. Amorim spoke with a smile in defending Onana, but there was some truth to his comments. “You can see my record,” he said. “My record is the worst in the team. I am also underperforming.”

Harry Maguire made little attempt to sugarcoat the collective underachievement. “If we don’t win the Europa League, it will still be a disappointing season for the players but winning it will be a big bonus,” he said. “Playing for this club demands trophies, and winning the Europa League will be a special trophy. It gives us access to the Champions League next season.”

Which, Amorim noted, has a game-changing impact on the revenues, especially for a manager who seems to need several signings. “It is more about the budget,” he said. “Champions League can change everything.” He could see the upsides in not being in it; a team with 23 points from their last 21 Premier League matches scarcely look equipped for it. “If you don’t have Champions League, you have full weeks to rebuild the team and more time to work,” he said. But with Champions League funds, there is more scope to rebuild.

He was coy on whether that rebuilding would include a goalkeeper. “We need to improve every position on the field,” he said, arguing United need to conjure progress from the players they already have. “We can work with Andre.”

Which, some three years before Nemanja Matic deemed him one of the worst goalkeepers in United’s history, was a view Lyon took. He was a target for them in January 2022, when he entered the final few months of his contract at Ajax, when the two clubs haggled over €1m here or there in a cut-price fee. Instead, Onana went to Inter on a free transfer and then, a year and a Champions League final later, to United for an initial £42m.

“Onana already proved he is a top player at Inter,” added Amorim. But, some might say, too rarely in an erratic United career. Maguire nevertheless sounded supportive. “Playing in front of Andre is great,” the centre-back said. “I have confidence in Andre. He has had a fantastic career.”