Not Heaven: Amorim has a new £30m solution to the centre-back problem

Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has a big decision to make ahead of the upcoming Premier League clash.

The Red Devils will face AFC Bournemouth at Old Trafford on Monday night.

It was recently reported that Harry Maguire, Matthijs de Ligt and Benjamin Sesko were absent from the training session at Carrington on Thursday.

While Maguire has been out since the 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur, De Ligt missed the last two fixtures due to an injury.

Ayden Heaven was a surprise pick by Amorim at the heart of the defence.

The teenager endured a nervy outing against West Ham United.

He repeatedly got too tight to his man and eventually picked up a yellow card for a reckless challenge on Jarrod Bowen.

Amorim replaced him at half-time, but in a show of trust, he reinstated the teenager in the starting XI for the following clash against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

He enjoyed a much better evening, with Wolves rarely offering any attacking threat.

The Portuguese head coach made a surprising decision to substitute him for Lisandro Martinez.

The £30 million-rated star is one of the best defenders in the English top flight but he has largely played as a left-sided centre-back.

We believe Amorim dropped a hint about giving the Argentine a new role on a temporary basis, especially with De Ligt and Maguire out.

With Martinez only recently returning from a lengthy injury layoff, starting him on Monday would mark his first start of the 2025–26 campaign.

Deploying him centrally could also pave the way for a balanced setup that finally accommodates both Martinez and Luke Shaw in the same XI.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com

Article written by Sanidhya Bhardwaj .