Grimsby Town vs Man United: Amorim to make changes but pick strong side

Ruben Amorim takes his United side to the Lincolnshire coast for a first meeting with Grimsby Town in 77 years. 
The Reds will hope to avoid being all at sea against the fourth tier Mariners in the unchartered waters of the Carabao Cup second round. 
United are still searching for a first win of the campaign and this tie against League Two opposition will provide a perfect opportunity to get our season up and running. 

There are expected to be several changes with many of United's big names given the night off, but Amorim is likely to still select a relatively strong side.

Here is how we think the Reds will line up at Blundell Park. 

Home of Grimsby Town FC, Blundell Park

GK - Tom Heaton

Andre Onana is out of favour and the unconvincing Altay Bayindir has started the first two league games. The 39-year-old veteran has started only three games since returning for his second spell at Old Trafford - two of which came in this competition during United's run to Wembley which ultimately ended in glory. 
Heaton shouldn't expect a busy night against a Grimsby side who will likely defend in numbers, so this is ideal for him to get a run out

RCB - Tyler Fredricson

The young defender caught the eye on the left hand side of the three-man defence when he made a long-awaited debut last term. With United minds on Bilbao, Fredricson impressed against Wolves and Brentford and has stayed at the club despite being linked to a move away. I'd like to see him get another go here.

CB - Harry Maguire

The senior man in United's back three, Maguire will start after two brief substitute appearances. With regular skipper Bruno Fernandes to be given the night off, expect Maguire to be named as stand in skipper for this one. 

LCB - Ayden Heaven

Came on late against Fulham and, with Mathijs de Ligt and Leny Yoro rested, will come into the defence. Like his senior partner Maguire, this will be Heaven's first start of the season and he will lay down his claim to displace the current Yoro/De Ligt/Shaw triumvirate. Heaven impressed in his debut campaign at Old Trafford and this will be a good opportunity for him to get minutes in the legs.

RWB - Noussair Mazraoui

Missed the latter part of pre-season and the first two competitive fixtures with a knock, but Amorim has said the Moroccan full-back is close to a return. This tie could come too soon but, if fit, it's a good platform for Mazraoui to get a run out and up to speed. One of the few players to consistently impress last term, Mazraoui's return provides United will strength in depth in an important area of the team

CM - Kobbie Mainoo

There has been much furore over Mainoo's absence from the side against Arsenal and Fulham. He hasn't even played a minute amidst doubts over his future. But we expect him to get his chance in this one with Casemiro and Fernandes to get the night off. He's better than a rotation option against a League Two side, but  - if he impresses - might he force his way back into Amorim's thinking? Surely this is the game for Mainoo. 

CM - Manuel Ugarte

After chaotic cameos in two sub appearances, let's hope we see a more controlled and composed Ugarte here. He should see plenty of the ball, and his link up with Mainoo will be key with United expected to monopolise possession and break down Grimsby. Largley seen as one of Mainoo's rivals for this position in midfield, with the pair having played alongside each other only ten times last season. This will be the eleventh and the under-pressure Uruguyuan needs a good showing. 

LWB - Diego Leon

The most unheralded of United's four summer signings, Leon is another South American export hoping to impress. Expected to ply his trade in the youth set up with an eventual pathway to senior football, Leon will be eyeing this tie for his Reds bow. Luke Shaw and Patrick Dorgu will be rested, paving the way for Leon to become United's latest debutant. It will give us a first look at the young Paraguyuan - the first man from that nation to turn out for our first team. 

CAM - Amad

Yet to hit the heights of last season, Amad came on against Arsenal but was hooked early at Fulham. He will operate further forward at Blundell Park charged with sparking United's rotated attack into life. The young Ivorian was one of the very few bright spots in our dismal season last term, and will again look to be tormentor-in-chief. Like some of his colleagues, Amad will hope a strong performance here will help him kick on after a frustrating start to the campaign. 

CAM - Joshua Zirkzee

With big money summer signings Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo not needed here, Zirkzee will get his first minutes of the season. The Dutch forward can play through the middle or in a deeper playmaking role. Zirkzee was much malinged during his early months as a United player but enjoyed something of a renaissance in the second half of last season. Although not prolific, Zirkzee will fancy his chances of a profitable night's work against a fourth tier defence. Worked hard to turn around his fortunes with his movement and link up play impressive and will surely get his opportunity here. 

ST - Benjamin Sesko 

Although United have the likes of Chido Obi waiting in the wings, we think Sesko will come in for his first start in Red. The giant Slovenian needs minutes and momentum as he gets up to speed with the English game after two sub appearances in which he we did not see the best of him. Once that first goal goes in an opposition net, Sesko's confidence will rise and he will be an entirely different proposition. This Carabao Cup tie provides an ideal opportunity for that impact to be made and put him in the picture for a first league start against Burnley on Saturday.

A rotated Reds side but still a team with plenty of experience and one that should be strong enough to get the job done. The bench will feature several youngsters - perhaps the likes of Godwill Kukonki, Harry Amass, Obi and the Fletcher brothers Tyler and Jack. There may well be a few first team names there too with Cunha, Fernandes and Casemiro et al. Just in case... 

Prediction: You can never safely predict the outcome of a United match, but surely even we cannot mess this one up. We think it could be tight and scrappy for an hour but then Grimsby will tire and United's superior quality shines through. Amorim's side to win it

Grimsby Town 0-3 Man Utd 

Kobbie Mainoo is a player United should build the team around

There should be a simple solution to Ruben Amorim's midfield malaise at Manchester United. 

For all the talk of a megamoney move for Carlos Baleba, the answer to United's issues is right in front of us - sitting on the bench in 20-year-old Kobbie Mainoo. 

He is a player United should be looking to build our team around for the next 10, 15, 20 years - a fantastic, generational talent and the future of that United midfield. Instead, if the rumours are to be believed, we are looking to cash in on him and let him go. That would be absolutely criminal and the worst decision this club has made for decades. INEOS risk losing the fans for good if they sanction the sale of one of our best academy graduates in the past decade. 

A little more than two years on, 
these four players may have left the club 
by the time the window shuts 

I cannot tell you how angry this has made me - in what world should Mainoo be one of the first out the door. The maelstrom surrounding Mainoo could well turn out to be exactly that - with only a week left of the transfer window, there remains a very good chance of the man who's been at this club since he was six not going anywhere.  But the fact it is even a topic of conversation is worrying. 

Not only would we be dispensing with one of the finest products of Carrington's conveyor belt, but delivering a strike to the heart of Manchester United's ethos - the trust, belief and development in youth. With Mainoo forced to the fringes of the first team with a World Cup looming, the timing could not be worse. 

Mainoo has not played a minute in United's opening two games of the campaign against Arsenal and Fulham with the unconvincing Manuel Ugarte coming on ahead of him. Mainoo played only the closing seconds of the Europa League final in Bilbao. It is not even certain he will get a start on Wednesday when the Reds visit fourth tier Grimsby in the Carabao Cup. Amorim does need appear to rate him and it says a lot about Mainoo's current place in the pecking order. 

Unless Fernandes is moved into one of the no.10 positions currently occupied by summer recruits Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, it is difficult to see Amorim dropping his key man and captain. 

Mainoo's path at United is blocked, with Amorim's comments that he's competing with captain Bruno Fernandes for a spot in midfield suggesting he's not getting near the XI any time soon. Never mind the fact they are completely different types of players in different positions, a Man United midfield with Mainoo in it offers an instant upgrade. Why can't Mainoo and Fernandes play in a double pivot with Casemiro or Ugarte? 

In all honesty, I would rather Fernandes, Amad or any other player leave the club before Mainoo. If it does happen, I would be Amorim out because any project without Mainoo at its centre is one I cannot get behind. If the answer is to sell Mainoo because he doesn't fit the system, then the system and the manager are the problem. 

A player with the quality and ability of Mainoo must be integrated into this team. Of course, no player is ever undroppable but, off the back of his scintillating breakthrough season, he should be one of the first names on the team sheet. Particularly given United's struggles in controlling the midfield and dictating games. Fernandes is not an 8, but Amorim kept him on the pitch and even put Mason Mount alongside him when Benjamin Sesko came on at Fulham. With United only playing one game a week, opportunities to rotate will be minimal.

How did it all come to this for a player who already has quite the CV? Ever since his magnificent full debut at Everton in November 2023 where he bossed the space between defence and midfield, he has been touted as United's next big star. 

That star only continued to shine as he ran the game at Anfield, catching the eye as the ultimate big game player. His highlights reel is impressive: that 98th-minute curling winner at Wolves, another screamer in the 2-2 draw with Liverpool at Old Trafford, and dragging United - kicking and screaming - back from the dead on that famous night against Lyon. Then there was his goal and man of the match showing in the FA Cup final and his impressive Euros campaign, culminating in getting the nod against Spain as England finished runners-up. 

Mainoo's future remains uncertain but United must do whatever it takes to keep him. 

Welcome to Manchester United, Benjamin Sesko

Manchester United look set to complete the signing of RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko from under the noses of Newcastle, as per BBC. 
Sesko will become Ruben Amorim's fourth summer signing and will slot in as the spearhead of his new-look attacking trident with Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo completing the triumvirate. 
Eddie Howe's Magpies seemed to be in pole position to land the lad from Leipzig as a replacement for wantaway star Alexander Isak. But - like a long distance runner in a 5,000m race - United sat in, bided their time and overtook their rivals with a late bid in the home straight.

Benjamin Sesko to Man United 

There can be no doubt 75m is a lot of money for a 22-year-old Bundesliga striker with 39 goals in two season. But there can also be no argument United are in desperate need of reinforcements having scored a record low 44 league goals last term. So whilst Sesko's hefty price tag and, therefore, increased expectations, will carry a lot of weight, he surely cannot be any worse.

As always, the Reds have been linked with a series of strikers all summer long - from the sublime (Viktor Gyokeres) to the ridiculous (Nicolas Jackson), via Ollie Watkins, Hugo Ekitite and Victor Osimhen. 
Sesko has attracted United's admiring glances for a couple of years now, but it was only once Newcastle entered the room that things gathered pace.

You can criticise INEOS for a fair bit of behind-the-scenes chaos at Old Trafford, but Jason Wilcox, Omar Berrada and Christopher Vivell have played this one to perfection. An official bid was only sent in for Sesko once it became apparent he wanted to sign for us, and from there, it has become a formality. Although Newcastle's initial bid was slightly higher than United's first offer, they have since matched it and Sesko has eyes only for Old Trafford. The stage is set for Manchester United's new centre forward to enter stage left. 

A switch to Newcastle offers Sesko Champions League football and arguably a club on a more stable footing. But despite the lure of the St James Park riches, the pull of Manchester United was too great, as per Sky Sports. The chance to lead the line for one of the world's most iconic and famous club - and the opportunity to bring us out of the doldrums - ultimately came up trumps. Who's that team we call United?! 

It is quite remarkable how a side with the worst attacking output in the league last season now has a front three fit to grace any of Europe's elite. The arrivals of two of the Premier League's best attackers in Cunha and Mbeumo, behind the imminent Slovenian, provides an instant upgrade for Amorim's United. With Amad, Bruno Fernandes and Mason Mount - who caught the eye in pre-season - also at the manager's disposal, there can be no excuses this time around.

Of course, this feels like a path United have walked down before. A young, emerging striker from Europe coming to Old Trafford for a large price tag as a relative unknown? For Sesko in 2025, read Rasmus Hojlund in 2023. It is with a touch of irony that the former is already seen a replacement for the latter. But there is no reason why the two cannot operate in tandem - indeed, perhaps the arrival of Sesko can spur Hojlund on to greater heights as we approach World Cup year.  

Hojlund of course could still leave, either on loan or permanently, but it's believed he wants to stay and fight for his place. Either way, it feels like Hojlund's United career is already in the 'last chance' saloon: a damning indictment on a player we spent so much on only two years ago. We can only hope Sesko does not go the same way. 

Benjamin Sesko

What is the true value of a striker? Do you invest in an experienced no.9 with a prolific goalscoring record like Haaland, or do you buy in to the future where a player can grow and learn into the role, like we did with Hojlund and like we're doing with Sesko? Delap at Chelsea is another example of an up and coming player tasked with leading the line for a Premier League giant. 

Sesko's signing continues the trend of European strikers making big money moves to the Premier League this summer: Delap to Chelsea, Gyokeres to Arsenal and Hugo Ekitite to Liverpool. Isak could be pending. 

So what are we getting with this lad? A player with 39 goals in 87 games across two seasons at Leipzig, Sesko plied his trade in Austria before his switch to the Bundesliga, and plundered 29 in 79 for Red Bull rivals Salzburg. A tall, rangy striker at 6ft 5, he is good in the air and, unusually for a tall man, his pace and technical ability makes him one of the most highly-rated players in Europe. A player with 41 caps for his country, he would become the first Slovenian to don the red of United. 

Welcome to Manchester United, Benjamin Sesko. It's going to be quite the ride...