We need to keep an eye out for a manager that achieves something truly special. Alonso is going to win Leverkusen's first ever league title in a league absolutely dominated by Bayern, but we are unlikely to attract him. Outside of that, I don't really know. We may need to find someone to be part of the rebuilding process but not necessarily someone who delivers that league title we all want. I think Nagelsmann is an interesting option, he has won the Bundesliga and was extremely impressive in what he did at both Leipzig and Hoffenheim.
I think Amorim has been doing a fantastic job at Sporting, punching above his weight to compete with Benfica who are in a much stronger financial position. In fact his managerial career so far has been case after case of him punching above his weight, see the below video.
Liverpool are now heavily linked and my guess is he will be there Plan B if they fail to get Xavi Alonso, which I will hate to see happen. Hopefully we make a call on ETH sooner rather than later before we lose out.
From a tactical perspective this video analyses Sporting’s performance against Arsenal last year in the EL and you can start to see how some of our current squad could suit this set-up.
GK
I think Onana would really suit this role. Playing as a 4th defender in build-up and using his composure to bait presses is what we have all wanted to see from him (as per his CL final performance).
CBs
Here we would need to invest in athletic defenders who can defend wide spaces and play a high line. Currently none of our CBs can do this to the necessary level. Licha however would be great at bringing the ball forward from LCB to join the single pivot in midfield in the build up.
If we could bring in a couple of CBs like Todibo and Lucumi (plus maybe even Mengi, if Luton go down) we could very quickly have the right set of CBs to play this system.
WBs
Out wide both Dalot and Shaw and can play this role to a good level. Would need to think about depth on both sides though.
Obvious additions would be Frimpong at RWB and in dreamland someone like Theo Hernandez or Alfonso Davies at LWB. If Malacia reappears maybe we have enough depth here though. I know it’s been mentioned and scrutinised before but I also think Antony could be tried here too if we can’t offload him.
CM (Ugarte role)
I think Mainoo would be great here and almost tailor-made for it. He’ll be crucial in being an option for the CBs and getting the ball out to our wide players. He might not have Ugarte’s energy levels off the ball, but on the ball he’d excel here. Other than Mainoo we don’t have another player with the necessary skill set really.
Someone like Florentino Luis who is a destroyer type DM but also very progressive could be a smart pick up. Palacios at Leverkusen or Andre Trindade could be options too.
CM (Goncalves role)
This is an interesting one. Could Bruno or Mount do this role? Potentially, they both have an engine to help Mainoo (who could also play this role I should add) out of possession. However, I think we need a better ball carrier here, at least as an option.
Khephrem Thuram would be perfect or if we’re being really greedy, Joao Neves.
RW/LW
Here we are actually pretty stacked. We have the obvious candidates in Garnacho, Rashford, Amad, but also think Bruno and Mount could operate here.
Being greedy I would pick up Bardghji as he’s cheap and has an incredibly high ceiling.
ST
Don’t need to dwell on this too much as obviously we have Hojlund here who has the right work rate to lead the press. Depth is the only issue.
Difficult one but either Guirassy or Zirkzee would be good rotation options.
I know this isn’t a transfer thread, however I thought I’d add some solutions in there that would adjust our squad to be able to play Amorim’s way, as no doubt some people will say we can’t play this type of system.