Sofyan Amrabat | 2023/24 Performances

Pogue Mahone said:
Are you aware that our biggest signing this summer has never worked with him before?
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Funnily enough, I am not sure if there's a clear "biggest signing this summer". I think Mount was supposed to be the bigggest signing (even if we needed CF first?), but he might be out of the team soon if Amrabat finds his feet. What would make this "never worked with him before" hilarious. But I do get your point, I was half serious there.
 
Borys said:
Funnily enough, I am not sure if there's a clear "biggest signing this summer". I think Mount was supposed to be the bigggest signing (even if we needed CF first?), but he might be out of the team soon if Amrabat finds his feet. What would make this "never worked with him before" hilarious. But I do get your point, I was half serious there.
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Amrabat isn't going to keep Mount out of the team. They've been bought to do two very different things and are very different players anyway. If Amrabat ends up keeping anyone out of the team, it'll be Casemiro if his form doesn't pick up.
 
Borys said:
Funnily enough, I am not sure if there's a clear "biggest signing this summer". I think Mount was supposed to be the bigggest signing (even if we needed CF first?), but he might be out of the team soon if Amrabat finds his feet. What would make this "never worked with him before" hilarious. But I do get your point, I was half serious there.
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I was actually thinking of Hojlund.
 
Crimson King said:
Amrabat isn't going to keep Mount out of the team. They've been bought to do two very different things and are very different players anyway. If Amrabat ends up keeping anyone out of the team, it'll be Casemiro if his form doesn't pick up.
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I wouldn't be so confident. I expect Amrabat will sometimes play instead of Casemiro and sometimes instead of Mount, and if ultimately the team is playing better with the Amrabat-Casemiro combo than it is with the Mount-Amrabat or Mount-Casmiro combo then we'll start seeing it the most often.

Of course, ETH has said that Amrabat is also an option out wide either on the wing or at fullback, so maybe all three will end up playing together quite often with Amrabat playing that inverted fullback role moving into midfield.
 
MadDogg said:
I wouldn't be so confident. I expect Amrabat will sometimes play instead of Casemiro and sometimes instead of Mount, and if ultimately the team is playing better with the Amrabat-Casemiro combo than it is with the Mount-Amrabat or Mount-Casmiro combo then we'll start seeing it the most often.

Of course, ETH has said that Amrabat is also an option out wide either on the wing or at fullback, so maybe all three will end up playing together quite often with Amrabat playing that inverted fullback role moving into midfield.
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I saw him mentioned as a potential full back option, which is one thing. But this will make me die a bit inside. We must be the only team that is happy to play without genuine wingers/wide players in those positions.
 
pocco said:
I saw him mentioned as a potential full back option, which is one thing. But this will make me die a bit inside. We must be the only team that is happy to play without genuine wingers/wide players in those positions.
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Maybe an option is to use him as in inverted fullback, the zinchenko role from the right. Could be a way to bring his ball retention qualities without having to drop any of Casemiro, Bruno, Mount ( or Eriksen).
 
Trex said:
Maybe an option is to use him as in inverted fullback, the zinchenko role from the right. Could be a way to bring his ball retention qualities without having to drop any of Casemiro, Bruno, Mount ( or Eriksen).
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Yes, maybe. Although if he was frequently used that way then I'd question why we signed another square peg for a round hole. Arteta has been getting pelters for playing Partey in a similar role.
 
MadDogg said:
I wouldn't be so confident. I expect Amrabat will sometimes play instead of Casemiro and sometimes instead of Mount, and if ultimately the team is playing better with the Amrabat-Casemiro combo than it is with the Mount-Amrabat or Mount-Casmiro combo then we'll start seeing it the most often.

Of course, ETH has said that Amrabat is also an option out wide either on the wing or at fullback, so maybe all three will end up playing together quite often with Amrabat playing that inverted fullback role moving into midfield.
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That's fair enough. We might need that extra security in the middle, especially as the defence has been so shaky.

I can actually see Mount playing RW a lot when he's back, at least until the issues there are resolved, which could obviously take a lot of time. I'm sure he'd do fine there, but it'll be a shame as that's not the role he was signed with in mind.
 
Crimson King said:
Amrabat isn't going to keep Mount out of the team. They've been bought to do two very different things and are very different players anyway. If Amrabat ends up keeping anyone out of the team, it'll be Casemiro if his form doesn't pick up.
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That might be the case. I just don't think we will have two AMs on the pitch at the same time, and I can't see ETH dropping his captain. I am very interested to see what happens with Mount to be honest. I actually think he is a good player and will turn out to be a good transfer in few years time, because he's quite versatile player. I think a player like Bruno will be more of a problem in a year or so. I don't see this team moving away from 4231 with him playing key role.
 
pocco said:
Yes, maybe. Although if he was frequently used that way then I'd question why we signed another square peg for a round hole. Arteta has been getting pelters for playing Partey in a similar role.
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Zinchenko is originally a cm don't forget. It all about if it works out or not.
 
Don't envy the guy, we need him to be a world class DM, which is a stretch for him. But if he can run and has decent stamina it will be a huge improvement.
 
Even if he isn't a world class DM we need a functional midfield unit to balance our team and get the lost confidence back.
 
Bobski said:
Don't envy the guy, we need him to be a world class DM, which is a stretch for him. But if he can run and has decent stamina it will be a huge improvement.
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He will be an improvement as far as we look for some consistency and stamina in the middle.
But do not put high expectations on him. He had no relevant impacts at a middle-table club of Serie A.
 
Alcio77 said:
He will be an improvement as far as we look for some consistency and stamina in the middle.
But do not put high expectations on him. He had no relevant impacts at a middle-table club of Serie A.
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Can you substantiate that as I don’t watch Serie A? Just had my eye on him a few games after World Cup. I thought who t f is this guy?! I assume Fiorentina are a team of average players so what did you want / expect him to achieve there? Looked world class in the World Cup. Hopefully that’s the player we see. I think he has an amazing attitude and his stamina is second to none covering more ground than any player at the World Cup. Great ball receiver, carrier and passer. Come on Sofyan, we need you!!
 
Don't envy him and Mainoo even less. They will be thrown into an uphill battle with so many expectations put on their shoulders.
 
NZT-One said:
Don't envy him and Mainoo even less. They will be thrown into an uphill battle with so many expectations put on their shoulders.
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At least by the time they come into the team we should have some other first team players back as well, so hopefully they’ll slot in easier having more quality around them.
 
Big Ray said:
Can you substantiate that as I don’t watch Serie A? Just had my eye on him a few games after World Cup. I thought who t f is this guy?! I assume Fiorentina are a team of average players so what did you want / expect him to achieve there? Looked world class in the World Cup. Hopefully that’s the player we see. I think he has an amazing attitude and his stamina is second to none covering more ground than any player at the World Cup. Great ball receiver, carrier and passer. Come on Sofyan, we need you!!
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Amrabat is the kind of player who makes physicality and athleticism his strengths. He has good pass skills and a more than decent ball distribution too.
But he tends to overestimate his technical abilities and he is subjected to lack of concentration in key moments of the game.

In Italy, he had howlers which sinked Fiorentina a couple of times. And when he was impressing at Verona, he came in front of the media telling that “In Holland they only remember me for the mistakes”.
So I assume the EtH is aware about his qualities and weaknesses.

Do not misunderstanding me.
I wish the lad has a great impact with us.
But I prefer to not put high expectations on him.
 
NZT-One said:
Don't envy him and Mainoo even less. They will be thrown into an uphill battle with so many expectations put on their shoulders.
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I think it's perfect for them. We've no mobility at all in midfield right now, bringing in players who can actually run and track runners, I think they'll will be so appreciated by teammates and fans alike
 
Any chance he could feature on Saturday? We desperately need the legs in midfield.

I don't care if he's a Fred regen, I don't want another game where Eriksen is completely overrun and McTominay does his Houdini disappearing act.
 
poleglass red said:
I think it's perfect for them. We've no mobility at all in midfield right now, bringing in players who can actually run and track runners, I think they'll will be so appreciated by teammates and fans alike
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Fred was the posterboy for mobility. Didn't stop fans. One mobile player or even two aren't changing a complete team, the expectations will be big, which will result in pressure, which could have negative effects.
 
NZT-One said:
Fred was the posterboy for mobility. Didn't stop fans. One mobile player or even two aren't changing a complete team, the expectations will be big, which will result in pressure, which could have negative effects.
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Is it really too much to ask to want players who can run and who don’t have regular brainfarts at the worst possible moments? Because the latter was the major problem with Fred. If he’d cut that out of his game he wound be as loved by United fans as Park was.
 
NZT-One said:
Fred was the posterboy for mobility. Didn't stop fans. One mobile player or even two aren't changing a complete team, the expectations will be big, which will result in pressure, which could have negative effects.
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By all accounts Amrabat is a really good passer so if he’s mobile and safe in possession he could work out great.
 
Eric_the_Red99 said:
Is it really too much to ask to want players who can run and who don’t have regular brainfarts at the worst possible moments? Because the latter was the major problem with Fred. If he’d cut that out of his game he wound be as loved by United fans as Park was.
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The point is: one mobile player will not change the outlook of the team. I hope the new arrivals will be good but lets not act as if its only a few individual performances that have us lacking. It is a team thing and it won't be fixed by having a new player in there. Even if this player is really good.

tomaldinho1 said:
By all accounts Amrabat is a really good passer so if he’s mobile and safe in possession he could work out great.
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Thats for sure. Looking forward to see him for us. By all accounts, I like him as a player. Which is why I am so worried that he will receive unfair criticism as soon as there is reason to think that he is not the ultramobile Gattuso-Pirlo hybrid from the sales brochure...
 
NZT-One said:
The point is: one mobile player will not change the outlook of the team. I hope the new arrivals will be good but lets not act as if its only a few individual performances that have us lacking. It is a team thing and it won't be fixed by having a new player in there. Even if this player is really good.


Thats for sure. Looking forward to see him for us. By all accounts, I like him as a player. Which is why I am so worried that he will receive unfair criticism as soon as there is reason to think that he is not the ultramobile Gattuso-Pirlo hybrid from the sales brochure...
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Wait what…in that case he’s deadwood.

Give it a couple to months and you’ll see this in the Amrabat thread.

‘Fecking Murtough, can’t even sell Amrabat!’
‘He’s on loan’
‘Well whatever we should send him back.’
Thread started: Should we cancel Amrabat’s loan
 
NZT-One said:
The point is: one mobile player will not change the outlook of the team. I hope the new arrivals will be good but lets not act as if its only a few individual performances that have us lacking. It is a team thing and it won't be fixed by having a new player in there. Even if this player is really good.


Thats for sure. Looking forward to see him for us. By all accounts, I like him as a player. Which is why I am so worried that he will receive unfair criticism as soon as there is reason to think that he is not the ultramobile Gattuso-Pirlo hybrid from the sales brochure...
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A player with Fred’s positive aspects, but without his inconsistency, could have a huge impact on this team. Fred at his best could be the most effective player on the pitch - but he only did that in a handful of games a season.

There are problems elsewhere in the team, but I think the severe lack of mobility in midfield is by far the biggest one. Whether Amrabat will help solve that problem remains to be seen.
 
The biggest hope with Amrabat is not the individual qualities he possess but the profile of player he is to balance the midfield. The only way I see United being a decent team this season and ultimately resolving the manager of further pressure is to play the 4-3-2-1 its proven to be the only system that compliments this group of players. Something along the lines of this:

...........Hojlund

Rashford - Bruno - Mount (Pellistri)

Amrabat - Casemiro

Let Pellistri come off the bench if necessary if there needs to be more directness on the flanks. Mount has successfully played wide the most prominent game I can recall is the UCL final against City with Kai on the right. There's a structure to support him playing that position if the width is provided from the fullback. So in this event Dalot is probably the better option to play behind Mount as he can drive down the outside and provide delivery into the box, whereas with AWB it would become very static.

The defence already has a settle first team structure so players returning from injury's hardly needs to be assessed. Not saying this assessment is right but logically considering all factors I sincerely hope it's tested by the manager.
 
Eric_the_Red99 said:
A player with Fred’s positive aspects, but without his inconsistency, could have a huge impact on this team. Fred at his best could be the most effective player on the pitch - but he only did that in a handful of games a season.

There are problems elsewhere in the team, but I think the severe lack of mobility in midfield is by far the biggest one. Whether Amrabat will help solve that problem remains to be seen.
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I would agree but use different words, I think, urgency or intensity is what we are missing. I'd also confirm your observation, Fred had a good effect on us, but not because he alone lifted us to a good level, he just helped to balance out a few issues with below average intensity levels that we continue to have throughout the team. Lets see how Amrabat does, but I am pretty sure that he alone will not change the whole outlook - we keep getting outfought way to often, and that actually is unacceptable.
 
Expectations to high on this one, let’s hope it doesn’t backfire on us.

Very good player and will be good for the team but..
 
KikiDaKats said:
Expectations to high on this one, let’s hope it doesn’t backfire on us.

Very good player and will be good for the team but..
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Basically needs to be more mobile and better defensively than Eriksen and better than McTominay (which should be a given) to not backfire on us.
 
Alcio77 said:
Amrabat is the kind of player who makes physicality and athleticism his strengths. He has good pass skills and a more than decent ball distribution too.
But he tends to overestimate his technical abilities and he is subjected to lack of concentration in key moments of the game.

In Italy, he had howlers which sinked Fiorentina a couple of times. And when he was impressing at Verona, he came in front of the media telling that “In Holland they only remember me for the mistakes”.
So I assume the EtH is aware about his qualities and weaknesses.

Do not misunderstanding me.
I wish the lad has a great impact with us.
But I prefer to not put high expectations on him.
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Are you saying his strength is his strength?
 
ZupZup said:
It's mad that some know nothing Twitter account can build a following pretending to have insider knowledge and everyone just takes the nonsense they spout at face value...

Some account called "Muppetiers" on Twitter says Man Utd's recruitment team thinks Amrabat will flop... then it gets taken as fact. Of course mate, sure they've told you that.
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Ah the good ol' Muppetiers, those feckers had a Reddit page a few years back which had many "ITKs"
 
Controversial prediction, he will replace Casemiro in the next few weeks.
 
NZT-One said:
Fred was the posterboy for mobility. Didn't stop fans. One mobile player or even two aren't changing a complete team, the expectations will be big, which will result in pressure, which could have negative effects.
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ran around like a headless chicken, I'll give him that. Our biggest problem right now is midfield runners, we've no-one who can track them. Fred wasn't strong enough, he got pushed off the ball too easily, so he wouldn't be much better than what we've seen. If we bring in mids with mobility and those who can make a tackle and actually pass, another thing Fred couldn't do, it won't make us title challengers overnight, but certianly make us harder to break down. The lack of cover from mid is putting pressure on a backline and keeper that aren't exactly in great form themselves. Expectations will be big, of course they will be, we are one of the biggest teams in the world. The option is to maintain the status quo, which clearly isn't working. Amrabat played in a world cup semi, I think he'll be fine with the pressure. Mainoo will be phased in, but we will definitely see him play this season, although he's a bit further back in his recovery at the moment.
 
Red Rash said:
Basically needs to be more mobile and better defensively than Eriksen and better than McTominay (which should be a given) to not backfire on us.
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True and it’s doable.

Just know he is not what majority of our fans think he is. Our game will need to necessarily slow down and controlled in certain sectors to get the best out of him.
 
KikiDaKats said:
True and it’s doable.

Just know he is not what majority of our fans think he is. Our game will need to necessarily slow down and controlled in certain sectors to get the best out of him.
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This is pure tripe. Did you not watch the pace Morocco played with at the World Cup?! Fast free flowing football and amrabat was at the centre of it.
 
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