Ruben Amorim's new Manchester United XI vs Ipswich as Leny Yoro decision made

Ruben Amorim officially begins his duties as Manchester United manager today, Monday November 11, and will make an immediate start on crafting his new squad to fit his vision.

Today has been over a week in the making since Amorim was announced as the next permanent man in charge at Old Trafford. In the time since he has overseen three final Sporting CP matches, including a 4-1 Champions League victory over Manchester City, whilst Ruud van Nistelrooy has been in interim charge since Erik ten Hag's sacking 14 days ago.

In short, it has been a whirlwind time at United recently - a reflection of the past decade at the club, really - but now the key word of the Amorim era must be stability. The key aspect his predecessor struggled with most was the application of an on-field system. Albeit an ever-changing one, Pep Guardiola has kept to a system.

As a student of the Man City boss, Mikel Arteta has developed his own and taken that to Arsenal. Jurgen Klopp and now Arne Slot have enjoyed success at Anfield with their methods of play. Even Unai Emery at Aston Villa too - it is no coincidence that all four of these clubs finished in the top last term, beating Man United and the rest, with clear, defined styles of play.

Ten Hag spent heavily on the players he thought would work in a 4-2-3-1 formation, though they failed to make the desired impact alongside existing Old Trafford stars. Now Amorim arrives with his 3-4-3 system that has served him so well in his homeland, but will have to get a tune out of this amalgamation of players headhunted by multiple prior managers.

"I know how I am going to play in the beginning, because you have to start with a structure that you know," the 39-year-old has already said. "Then you will adapt with the players that you have, some injuries, or no injuries, what kind of players have the abilities to defend, attack, I will discover that in the next few weeks. We don’t have a lot of time to train, so I have to show something that I know very well. You can take whatever you want from that."

He will get a decent taste of the squad across two weeks before they travel to Portman Road on their next Premier League assignment. Here, the Manchester Evening News predicts which available players will make Amorim's first starting XI, who will face Ipswich Town...

Goalkeeper - Onana

A first decision for the new manager and it seems like it should be a fairly straightforward one. He may face criticism at times, but Andre Onana is the goalkeeper with the most experience playing at a top level.

Both he and Altay Bayindir will be away with their national teams during the break, so it is not like the second-choice would have the opportunity to stake a claim.

Defence - De Ligt, Maguire, Martinez

A change in defensive formation offers Harry Maguire the opportunity for an immediate return to the team.

The former captain has been sidelined since before the October internationals but is looking to use the new break to get back to match fitness. Placing him in the centre of a back three will negate extra need for pace and place greater emphasis on his ability to command a back line. The 31-year-old has plenty of experience that at least for now Amorim can put to use.

Then to the right of him Matthijs de Ligt, and to the left Lisandro Martinez. Both are younger and faster, so their capabilities suit the wider positions. They have struck up somewhat of a partnership so far this season therefore keeping them together will be advantageous in the long run.

Two out of the three choices offer a good amount of height, so on paper this seems like a sensible trio.

Of course this would mean denying Leny Yoro a first competitive start in the club's colours. Placing such demands on an 18-year-old returning from a particularly nasty injury might be too rash of a decision to begin with, so Amorim would be wise to cautiously build him up to taking Maguire's place over time.

Midfield - Dalot , Mainoo, Ugarte, Mazraoui

Moving further upfield, Amorim is going to find further trouble building a jigsaw with pieces mixed together from different sets.

He typically likes to play with two central and two out wide. Getting to grips with the Premier League he might be wise to stick with a quartet that are comfortable defensively.

For these purposes full-backs Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui are two more survivors from the team Van Nistelrooy last used against Leicester City. Both offer plenty going forwards as well as the ability to cover their central defenders.

Even if the latter is technically out of position, it again means not rushing Luke Shaw back into the fold from his recent fitness troubles.

In the middle, summer signing Manuel Ugarte retains his place having been a tried and tested former member of Amorim's Sporting side, then Casemiro becomes the first casualty as Kobbie Mainoo returns from injury to take his place. As a clearer cut central midfielder the 19-year-old would offer greater versatility in Man United's attacking and defensive efforts.

Attack - Amad, Fernandes, Rashford

This leaves only three more places available for attackers - one central and two either side - in Amorim's ideal formation. He is due to be hit with a major reality check going from having Victor Gyokeres up front - a man who's every touch turns to gold - to a collection of goalscorers that haven't really been completing that task to the full effect.

When Amorim was announced over one week ago this prediction may have been simpler, but Amad has arguably played himself into the starting line-up. The 22-year-old has two goals and one assists in his last two outings, plus will have the benefit of training under the new coach for the duration of the November break, so deserves to keep his place.

On the opposite flank Marcus Rashford is in the same boat - he has not been called up by England so has the opportunity to learn under Amorim before the Ipswich game. Alejandro Garnacho may be the preferable option, but having him to bring from the bench would be a great weapon to have stored in the arsenal, especially as he is due to travel extensively to South America and back over the break.

And lastly this brings Amorim to the conundrum up front. Both Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee are currently away with their national teams, so won't have the same benefit Amad and Rashford have over the next two weeks.

If Amorim's system is going to work in the long run he is going to have to adapt and build the confidence of at least one of that duo into his ideal striker, but again, there is no rush.

The last spot could therefore go to Bruno Fernandes, who rather than being the man that runs in behind would play as a second striker. The captain can link the play between midfield and his wide attackers perhaps just this once, whilst being not too bad of a goalscorer himself.