Amad Diallo has given Ruben Amorim the right kind of Man Utd headache: Flying winger must start under new manager opposite tortured genius Alejandro Garnacho – so where does that leave Marcus Rashford?

“He [Amad] is a great character, a hard worker, he shows it in every training session,” the interim boss said after Amad’s double against PAOK. “He also puts in extra work every day in training. He comes to me and wants to do extra finishing, crossing, one versus one, how he can improve his shooting, heading. He is constantly focused on learning, getting better, very motivated to get the most from his career.”

Amad had looked livid on his previous outing in the Europa League after being left out of the starting line-up by Ten Hag against Fenerbahce, while he was then overlooked as the coach instead brought on Antony when chasing a winner in Turkey. When Amad was eventually brought on for the final few minutes after Antony suffered an injury, he had to be calmed down by assistants Rene Hake and Van Nistelrooy.

Ten Hag had justified that call by saying Antony had been performing well in training. That might have been the case, but the Brazilian consistently performs terribly on the pitch, so it was little wonder that Amad was exasperated to find himself behind the flop forward, having already fallen behind Rashford and Garnacho in the pecking order. Amad remarked “This season I have been unlucky,” but it looks like his luck is turning.

“It was a great night for him as someone who is in and out. He needs to cement a place and I think tonight has gone a long way to doing that,” Paul Scholes said on TNT Sports after the PAOK win. “He was excellent, the first 20 minutes he looked the sharpest player on the pitch and went on to prove that in the second half. He has come in and made a real stake for that position.”

Amad began the Leicester game on the right wing after winning the battle with Garnacho, who has had a strange season, looking talismanic one minute and clumsy the next. He had been experiencing a mini-crisis of confidence, missing several glaring chances in the defeat at West Ham – which proved to be Ten Hag’s final game – and in the draw against Chelsea.

He looked to be having another frustrating afternoon on Sunday when he dashed into the area and got behind a Leicester player only to fumble the ball out of play. The Foxes fans delighted in Garnacho’s gaffe, but just a few minutes later he shut them up with his exquisite strike, a reminder of his capacity to make the difference with one swing of his boot.

As he demonstrated with his Goal-of-the-Season-winning bicycle kick against Everton, Garnacho is capable of pulling off magical things on the pitch. He often steps it up in the biggest games, having scored in the FA Cup final and Community Shield against Manchester City at Wembley. He still needs to produce on a regular basis and clearly wants to do so, which is why he looked sad when he scored his magnificent goal. His travails are reminiscent of Cristiano Ronaldo’s first three seasons at United, and it is no secret that he idolises the Portuguese. Garnacho at times looks like a tortured genius, agonising over his art.

“Garnacho scored a banger but didn’t celebrate like he should because he thinks he has lost faith from some fans,” explained Fernandes. “I told him people will always moan but lots of people like you and enjoy what you do. I told him to celebrate, it was something special. He is a special player, we have difference-makers.”

Van Nistelrooy revealed he had given an explanation to Garnacho for his decision to start him on the bench, saying: “He has played a lot of minutes and I wanted him to make an impact off the bench.” Amorim might also want to tread carefully with Garnacho. He is arguably the player in the squad with the highest ceiling, but his talent and ego must be managed carefully.

While Garnacho had a happy ending to the game, Rashford’s day ended in the 57th minute when he was replaced by the Argentine. And for the fifth start in a row, he left the pitch without contributing to a goal, having rarely looked like creating any danger. He had no shots, while his crosses kept on hitting the first line of defence.

In the first half, Rashford tried to take on Soumare and ran the ball out of play. In the second, he ran on to a pass from Manuel Ugarte and miscontrolled it out of play, to the frustration of the Uruguayan. Rashford normally makes fast starts in games before fading, but he never got going on Sunday. Of United’s four wingers, he looks to be firmly third in terms of form, below Amad and Garnacho but comfortably ahead of Antony.

Rashford enjoyed a shield of protection under Ten Hag, as he had enjoyed his best-ever season in the Dutchman’s first campaign, which led to him signing his bumper new contract in July 2023. Amorim will have no motivation to show him the same loyalty, and Rashford will have to earn his place on merit. The only hope is that the injection of new energy around the club which Amorim will bring will benefit the homegrown forward, as it did when Ten Hag arrived.

Rashford, Garnacho and Amad will all have to adapt to the new coach’s methods, and they will each be forced to tweak their usual styles of play. Amorim’s renowned 3-4-3 formation, which he has hinted he will stick with at United, compels the forwards to play more narrow than in the 4-2-3-1 Ten Hag mostly used and which Van Nistelrooy also deployed in his four games in charge.

Amorim’s front three at Sporting this season has been comprised mostly of Pedro Goncalves – better known as Pote – who used to play deeper in midfield, and Francisco Trincao, a more traditional winger, with goal-machine Viktor Gyokeres the centre-forward. The front three are fluid, with Gyokores often drifting out wide as Trincao and Pote play inside, acting as twin No. 10s. Trincao and Pote have been deadly together, notching 19 goals and assists between them in the league, with Gyokeres scoring 16 times.

Amorim’s system should suit Fernandes, who had two prolific seasons with United before becoming more of a midfield all-rounder, and he is certain to take up one of the positions in the front three. The question is who joins him behind Rasmus Hojlund, who is set to lead the line.

“It’s going to be a big change, a big culture shock really particularly for the wingers,” said former England forward Theo Walcott on BBC’s ‘Match of the Day 2’. “Erik ten Hag played with a lot of width, now United will be playing a lot narrower. Bruno Fernandes is never really shy in this position, he’s very comfortable, being the leader and the captain. We’re asking wingers to be comfortable like Bruno is. Amad has been a revelation, biding his time. Amad being narrow means he can drive at the ball, drive at the centre-halves, when you get centre-backs committing fouls it’s difficult [to handle].”

Amad certainly has the intelligence and nimble feet to play narrower in less space, as he demonstrated with his crafty backheel to Fernandes. Garnacho, though, seems more suited to playing wide, where he can make the most of his pace. If Amad does win the battle to join Fernandes in the three, then Garnacho might have to do as he did on Sunday and revert to being a super-sub, rather like in his breakthrough season.

The alternative is to reinvent himself as a wing-back. Although he lives to entertain, Garnacho has made big improvements in his defending since becoming a regular in the first team. His aptitude with both feet means he could play on either flank, where United are not exactly stocked with in-form players.

Left-backs Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia have not played a minute between themselves this season due to injuries, while Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui both prefer playing on the right. Dalot, one of United’s best players of last season, has made a very poor start to the campaign, although Mazraoui is finding his feet following his summer arrival from Bayern Munich.

If Garnacho as a wing-back is hard to envisage, the idea of Rashford playing there seems even more preposterous. He, then, could look to rebuild his flagging career as a centre-forward, the position where he thrived in his early years before losing interest due to the work he had to do off the ball.

He explained to Gary Neville in 2023: “Although I feel like centre-forward you’ve got less distance to cover to score simple goals, I do prefer left wing. Left is easier to stay in the game, and from when I was young I’ve always wanted to be involved in the game. That’s why I struggle playing centre-forward sometimes because of my patience. You might not touch the ball for 20 minutes, and then your first touch might be an opportunity to score. You have to be mentally switched on.”

It could be argued that Rashford, who used to celebrate goals by pointing to his head, has been lacking mental strength for more than a year. But if he is smart he can adapt his game and use Amorim’s new system to his advantage by rivalling Hojlund for the main striker’s berth. It might be his best shot at getting back into the team as his younger team-mates have turned into formidable forces he can no longer barge out of the way. Change is in the air at United, and it’s now a case of adapt or die.