“He has been our best player this season far and I’m happy he’s back sooner than expected”: Man United’s coach Ruben Amorim has confirmed a shocking injury boost for Manchester United as their superstar is finally back from injury
Manchester United are gearing up to face Manchester City on Sunday afternoon as Ruben Amorim looks to beat Pep Guardiola again.
Forget the disappointment of Manchester United’s 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest; it’s derby day.
There hasn’t been much for United fans to shout about this season, but beating Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium in December was a rare bright spot.
Amad inspired a late comeback at the Etihad Stadium, handing Ruben Amorim a first derby day victory as United boss – but a second win over Pep Guardiola this season.
Amorim beat Guardiola in the Champions League earlier this term as Sporting hammered City 4-1 in Lisbon.
Amorim would love a repeat on Sunday afternoon, but he will have to welcome City without Ayden Heaven as part of the United squad.
Ruben Amorim on Ayden Heaven
Heaven picked up an injury against Leicester City before the international break and still isn’t available again.
In fact, Heaven sent a message to United fans ahead of the Manchester derby, telling supporters that he will be back soon.
United signed defender Heaven from Arsenal in January, believing that he could make a first-team impact fairly quickly.
Heaven was called upon even sooner than expected, though, as Lisandro Martinez went down with an injury.
A natural left-footer, Heaven looked right at home on the left side of United’s back three, leaving Amorim impressed.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Amorim noted that injuries have been a problem for United this season, but have really helped him find out things for the future.
Amorim admitted that Heaven’s development is one of them, with the United boss learning that the teenager is ready to stay in United’s first-team squad right away.
Amorim even hinted that Heaven’s impact could change United’s transfer plans, possibly ruling out the signing of a left-sided defender this summer.
“I am really excited for next season and already really stressed because I put a lot of pressure on us,” said Amorim.
“We have bad luck with injuries but everybody has had some of those in the Premier League so I don’t like to focus on that. Sometimes because of injuries, you find out something else that will be important in the future.
“I have found that Garna (Garnacho) can play on the right. I found out Ayden is ready to stay in our squad and maybe we can change the way we are going to go to the market. There are always the good and bad things,” he added.
Ayden Heaven could save United millions
Amorim’s comments suggest that a left-sided defender won’t be a priority this summer.
Reports in January suggested that United wanted Goncalo Inacio, who played a key role under Amorim at Sporting.
Striking that deal in January was always going to be tricky, though, and United ended up paying just £1.5million to sign Heaven.
United may have wanted to test the water on Heaven in the first-team picture before deciding on any summer move for Inacio.
Heaven has now shown that he can step up and allow United to focus cash on other positions heading into next season.
That £1.5million may go down as a bargain in the years to come; Heaven must still keep improving, but the early signs are very promising for United fans and Amorim.
