“I don’t think the solution is to buy an Mbappe… the first thing we need to do is build a balanced squad and ultimately maybe top it off with one or two players like Mbappe. It will take two or three summer windows to get to a better place.”
That’s what Manchester United’s new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe told The Times CEO Summit last June as he laid out how he would reshape a club who haven’t won the Premier League since 2013. A decade of inconsistent transfer dealings has left their 2024-25 squad in a troubled, muddled, and weak position. With current head coach Ruben Amorim wedded to a 3-4-3 formation, United’s summer shopping list will surely contain one of football’s rarer commodities: elite wing-backs.
But true wing-backs are an endangered species in an era of the game that favours more traditional full-backs. The talent pool there is shallower than other positions. The few world-class options are already thriving at their present clubs — making them harder to sign. The few teams who possess elite wing-backs will be aware of Amorim’s intent in the summer market, so the dreaded “United Tax” could rear its ugly head yet again.
The club’s search for wing-backs this summer could be less of a mission and more of a minefield. Chelsea have already taken one option off the market by signing Geovany Quenda, a teenage winger/wing-back who impressed under Amorim at the latter’s previous club Sporting CP in Portugal.
If Amorim is to maximise his chances of success at Old Trafford, United will need to do more than sign wing-backs. They’ll have to learn how to make them out of other players, too.
“When it comes to developing wing-backs within academies, you don’t particularly see it,” says Temisan Williams, a former professional academy coach at Fulham, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal.
“I’ve only seen it with Chelsea in the (Antonio) Conte era, where there was a stipulation for all Chelsea teams to play that same formation through the academy. Outside of that, you don’t traditionally see academies develop players that way.”
Chelsea have had the most joy using wing-backs in the Premier League’s modern era. Conte became the first manager in half a century to win the English league playing with a back three in 2016-17. Then Thomas Tuchel used a similar system as the Londoners added the Champions League title four years later.
Though Chelsea’s success with them saw some copycatting for a short spell, wing-back use has largely fallen out of vogue at the game’s top clubs. Most teams across Western Europe these days prefer a back four.
Conte won the Premier League using wing-backs (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Inter, Bayer Leverkusen, Atalanta and Sporting have thrived with some variant of three-at-the-back. But even then, while Amorim’s first team with the latter used a 3-4-3, Sporting’s academy teams fielded a four-man defence throughout his four and a half years in charge.
It can be difficult to recalibrate footballers from other positions as wing-backs. When people in and around the game are asked how to take a full-back, winger or central midfielder and teach them to be one, several skills are mentioned.
“You’ve got to be able to get up and down the pitch,” says Stephen Warnock, a left-back used as a wing-back at various points in his career for Liverpool, Blackburn Rovers, Aston Villa, Wigan Athletic and others. “You also need replacements to come on and be able to play in those areas. Because if you are going to be up and down in that position, then you’ve got to be able to run yourself into the ground for, say, 70 to 80 minutes, and then maybe at the end of the game, you need someone to come on and just fill in that gap.”
“You have to have incredible stamina,” adds Williams. “And you have to maintain high football technical actions when you’re tired. If you’re providing that width in the 80th minute, in the 90th minute, and you’ve got to deliver a cross, you’ve got to be able to deliver that at a certain quality.”
Amorim has divvied up wing-back duties between Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui for most of his five-month United tenure. The Portuguese likes two-footed wing-backs, terming them “more complete” when looking to go past opponents and enter the final third. Amad made important contributions from right wing-back in notable games before a season-ending injury in February, while Patrick Dorgu has offered direct running and defensive security since arriving from Italy’s Lecce late in the winter transfer window.
High-intensity sprints are a wing-back’s bread and butter, and the requirements list for the role quickly builds from there.
Historically speaking, wing-backs tend to opt for one-two passes with a team-mate on their inside to help them go past defenders, or look to beat their opponents for pace on the outside. Amorim’s wing-backs need to provide width and make crosses, but also offer an infield threat, cutting inside to either shoot at goal or combine with team-mates. To maximise this threat, he has a record of playing left-footed wing-backs on the team’s right flank and vice versa.
Amorim thinks player characteristics are more important than their actual positions, and there are a few traits he routinely wants from those stationed out wide. “What I want is a good one-against-one, to open the field, to play, to close the field when we lose the ball, and it is the same in every team,” he said before December’s 4-0 home win against Everton.
He has also described his wide players as “wingers” many times, suggesting he may one day stop deploying the former full-back pairing of Dalot and Mazraoui. Expecting a footballer to defend like a boxer, create like an artist and run like a middle-distance sprinter is asking a lot.
While crossing is one key skill — both from deep and the byline — Williams highlights others: “Being able to run with the ball, but really eating up the ground. Especially if the opposition’s wingers press high, or don’t recover very well. Knowing that you’ve got 30 to 40 yards of space in front of you, are you able to take three or four touches to eat up the ground quickly and get into the final third, as opposed to taking 10 touches to be able to do that same action?
“Having control of longer touches and longer strides with the ball. Then — while at pace — being able to change the angle of your movement to be able to combine with team-mates.”
There are also some skills which can turn a good wing-back into a great one.
“In addition to that — and this may not have been thought about — but throw-ins too,” Williams says. “Throw-ins would traditionally be taken by one of the full-backs, and you’ve got your winger and you’ve already got someone providing width in that way.
“If you’ve got a wing-back who can also throw the ball 40 yards, it can pay dividends. As they throw the ball further, it gives them time to come onto the pitch and provide that width immediately. A team doesn’t have to rush or change the shape too much when you’ve got throw-ins.”
Most wing-backs playing to a high level today are responsible for an entire flank on their own. But their ability to play is also defined by the colleagues working inside them.
“Wing-backs have to be aware of their triangle angle,” says Williams. “When I say triangle angle, you’ve got your angle between your centre-back, then the midfield player centrally and yourself.”
“You’ve got to understand those angles quite critically. Because if you don’t, and the ball is coming to you immediately, your team is going to be on the back foot. You’ve got to really understand the depth that you have to be able to receive and your position there, especially when you’re trying to play out from the back.”
Dalot and Mazraoui have featured as United’s wing-backs under Amorim (Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)
For Warnock, there’s an adjustment period when learning to combine with team-mates.
“You’re almost caught between what to do,” he says. “When the opposition’s got the ball, it’s almost, ‘Who’s going to close them down? Is it your job? Is it my job?’. And that’s where it becomes difficult, because you feel that some games it works really well, then others you can get completely lost, and you think, ‘We’re all over the place here. We’re getting caught out because we’re in-between positions’.
“People will say, ‘Well, if you knew it from the last game, why don’t you just repeat?’. But, every team, every game, is different and they’ll have a different way of playing. Teams will try and find that space, or the flaws within your system.”
For both Williams and Warnock, Conte’s title-winning 2016-17 Chelsea side owed a debt to the talents of Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso operating as the wing-backs. It also called upon the strengths of those within their passing triangles.
“Your two centre-backs have to be comfortable coming out into wider positions (in a 3-4-3),” says Warnock. “Cesar Azpilicueta played right of the three (for that Chelsea team). He’s a right-back by trade, so he’s more than happy to go out in a one-v-one situation and engage on that right-hand side when he’s drawn out into position.”
“If you think about Chelsea, who was in centre midfield? (N’Golo) Kante and (Nemanja) Matic,” adds Williams. “Matic wasn’t bombing forward and Kante could press his own press. They also had (Cesc) Fabregas there at the same time, and he could pick up passes.
“When it comes to developing wing-backs, I think it cannot be done without having central midfield players who really can carry and protect the ball.”
During Mauricio Pochettino’s five-year spell as Tottenham manager, he would occasionally use a 3-4-3. Mousa Dembele’s press resistance and ball-carrying from central midfield helped.
“It’s a lot of running if you play wing-back, but knowing that if ever you were stuck, you could just roll the ball to him (Dembele) and he’d always get you out of trouble was a real blessing,” Spurs’ versatile defender Ben Davies told The Athletic in 2022. “There would be times when I’d have maybe two defensive actions the whole game. The rest were up in the opposition half and you could look to him (Dembele) to drive out and get the ball to you.”
If United are to both invest in and develop wing-backs during Amorim’s tenure, they will also have to assess the wide centre-backs and central midfielders those players hope to combine with. The athleticism and technique of your nearest team-mates are essential to helping wing-backs choose their moments and earn a breather when needed, as well as providing defensive cover if they find themselves out of position.
“Whenever a team is trying to do this, they always have the two quickest central defenders out wide in the three,” says Williams. “They’ve got to be quick. You won’t put (United’s Harry) Maguire out on the right side of your back three.”
United’s 2-2 away draw against Everton on February 22 showed what can occur when the triangles from wing-back go wrong.
In the 33rd minute, Dorgu — playing left wing-back — was caught deep in opposition territory as the home side looked to progress the ball. Bruno Fernandes, in central midfield, looked to press Abdoulaye Doucoure and buy his new team-mate time to retreat.
However, Doucoure chops back on Fernandes, creating space he can later exploit.
United’s structural issues are compounded by Matthijs de Ligt, their left centre-back, pushing high up the field to cover for Dorgu.
Doucoure then passes to Jesper Lindstrom wide on Everton’s right, and the winger looks to play a pass behind De Ligt for striker Beto to run onto.
Maguire — who was playing in the middle of United’s back three — has now shuffled over to the left to try to cover for his team-mates. However, he is especially vulnerable to this sort of pass into open space, as he is not a particularly quick centre-back.
Beto duly beats him for pace and races behind United’s defence before teeing up Jack Harrison with a cutback cross.
Goalkeeper Andre Onana parried Harrison’s shot, but the late-arriving Doucoure then beat Maguire to the rebound in the air, and scored.
It’s a goal caused by a few individual errors but also a structural concern related to playing with wing-backs. If Amorim’s wing-backs get caught up playing high up the field, the opposition have a straightforward way to attack the space behind United’s defence.
The players and coaches at United can temper structural issues by improving their defensive positioning and dominating their one-versus-one duels. De Ligt’s recent move to right centre-back has seen him play more aggressively and proactively when challenging for loose balls. Winter-window signing Ayden Heaven has a greater recovery pace than his team-mates. Using the 18-year-old as a left centre-back has also helped protect his wing-backs on that side when they are caught out of position.
Physicality is an important aspect of playing in Amorim’s 3-4-3, not just for the wing-backs but for every member of the squad.
“We are understanding better how to press, when to press, closing more of the spaces; understanding more of the characteristics of the players that we have,” said Amorim after Sunday’s 3-0 away win against Leicester City.
The Athletic is going to write a piece on players at other clubs who United could buy for these roles, but let’s now look at ones in their academy ranks who could supplement Amorim’s squad in future.
Amorim gave a first-team debut to Harry Amass at the weekend. The 18-year-old played the game’s final 21 minutes at left wing-back and is exceptionally skilled with the ball in tight spaces. Right-back Jaydan Kamason has impressed with his performances for Adam Lawrence’s under-18s side. The 18-year-old signed his first professional contract with United in December 2023 and has made notable contributions to this season’s FA Youth Cup run, providing two assists in the fifth round against Chelsea before scoring in the quarter-final win against Arsenal.
Kamason’s experience playing as a centre-back in the under-16s age group makes him a rugged defensive option. Tenacious when tackling and unafraid of a high-intensity sprint (whether getting forward or tracking back), he is considered a promising talent. Steady development of his ball-striking has also seen him emerge as both an intelligent passer and a crosser from wide areas.
Bendito Mantato is one of the more versatile options in the academy. He is left-footed but has played on both flanks throughout his career, as a full-back and on the wing. The 17-year-old recently made the jump to United’s under-21s side, scoring as a right-winger in a 5-1 win against West Bromwich Albion last week in Premier League 2. He also boasts surprisingly good defensive acumen — he’s a lot stronger than his slight frame suggests. A two-footed ball-carrying threat, Mantato makes for a more attacking contrast to Kamason if they were to be recalibrated into a wing-back pairing in United’s senior team.
“He’s (Mantato) got a really good chance,” Under-21s head coach Travis Binnion told MUTV after the win over West Brom, “The football club thinks a lot of him.” Mantato is indeed well-regarded by senior staff at the club, and he would have a clear pathway into the first-team squad should Amorim come calling.
All three prospects have trained with the first-team squad under Amorim already. Each provides possible solutions to tactical headaches, should they successfully make the step up.
Amorim’s distinct tactical view of the game will help United determine which players to target in the upcoming summer transfer window. Assembling the parts necessary to play the way he wants to on a limited budget will be challenging but not impossible.
(Top photos: Getty Images)
