Sofyan Amrabat Struggles to Adapt in Premier League as Man United’s Midfield Woes Continue

Several reasons explain Sofyan Amrabat’s difficulty in establishing himself at Manchester United. The Moroccan international "has still not had a positive impact on Erik ten Hag’s team" because he "is sometimes relegated to the left-back position," comments The Sun, adding that he has also struggled to adapt to the pace and intensity of the Premier League. The British newspaper points out that Man Utd has had trouble controlling matches this season, as "the team’s defensive, midfield and offensive units are not working coherently." As a result, according to him, the pressing structure is far from ideal, "which means the midfield has to cover the large spaces left when the pressing collapses."

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While Casemiro and Amrabat may be better ranked in the category of deeper midfielders than Christian Eriksen and Mason Mount, none of them have a radius of action, analyzes the publication. According to the author of the article, the Moroccan international who effectively defended the space for Morocco during the 2022 Qatar World Cup has so far struggled with United because he is supposed to cover a large part of the space. In addition, international tournaments often have lower intensity and pace than the Premier League. Almost caught between two fires when it comes to his positioning, he is slower to react to danger, the newspaper notes, suggesting that Erik ten Hag set up better structures around Amrabat to put him in a position where his lack of mobility is not such a big problem.

Rather than holding the Atlas Lion responsible for the club’s poor performance, the publication suggests reviewing the positioning and roles of each player. "In football, positioning is very important and when the defenders leave spaces between them and the full-backs, the opposition launches an assault on these spaces. Man Utd players have always been placed in unusual positions or in roles that don’t suit them, which means players like Amrabat struggle to control their playing area. Here, he has to move all over the pitch to follow an opposing player’s run, while his teammates remain passive."

Another suggestion: the midfielders must be ready to make forward passes to find the forwards or put the ball in space, which will allow Manchester United to maintain its position as a prosperous counterattacking and transitional team. "By playing shorter and more passively in ball possession and in his passes, Amrabat encourages the opponent to press higher up. If he was more willing or able to play a little longer in ball possession, the opponent would be pushed back further. Progressive passes have never been a strong point of Amrabat’s game, but United knew that when they recruited him," the publication adds.