Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim was eyed by Liverpool and West Ham United last year

Things could have looked very different for Ruben Amorim and Manchester United this season as the Red Devils seek a return to winning ways at home to Ipswich Town on Wednesday night.

It has been a tough start to life for Amorim at Old Trafford as results have left supporters frustrated. United still have two chances of silverware this season with the FA Cup and Europa League but they are languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League table.

Ahead of the summer, Amorim held talks with West Ham United about succeeding David Moyes. The former Sporting CP insisted at the time his club knew about the discussions but he issued a public apology for the meeting. He said in April: "What is important to say is that it was obviously a mistake. The trip was a mistake, the timing was completely misjudged, which I did not see at the time. It was misjudged."

Amorim later met with Liverpool

After Jurgen Klopp announced his decision to leave his post as Liverpool manager, Amorim was strongly linked with a move to Anfield. It has now been reported by The Telegraph that the Reds’ sporting director Richard Hughes met with Amorim in Portugal during the summer but the Merseyside club were left concerned by the manager’s insistence on sticking with his 3-4-3 formation. Liverpool instead opted against offering Amorim the Anfield vacancy over his reluctance to change his style of play, with the job instead going to Arne Slot.

United’s poor run is partly down to injuries with Amorim unable to use the best players for his system. The Red Devils appear committed to Amorim’s way of playing after they signed Patrick Dorgu to fill the right wing-back spot. The club are keen to provide Amorim with a wing-back on the opposite flank and Sporting's Geovany Quenda has been strongly linked as a potential summer recruit.

Amorim urged to be more flexible

Former Arsenal and Middlesbrough striker Paul Merson feels Amorim should be more flexible with his tactics until he is able to get in the players he feels who best suit his playing style.

"Ruben Amorim is the problem at Manchester United," Merson told Sky Sports. "The three at the back isn't working the way he'd planned. So, change it. He's not helping the players, he's helping himself by just keeping it the way he's been used to playing all his managerial career or most of it.

"Top managers are flexible. They go, you know what, I don't really want to play this way, but I've got to play to the players' strengths, and then when I can get my players in at the end of the season, I'll go back to playing the way I want to play. But, at the moment, they need to start playing a different way because they won't beat Real Sociedad, playing like this.

"I don't think they will move Amorim on either. They don't have the money to start all over again. They'll have to go with this man. But my worry is, we all know that they can't play three at the back, we know they're all over the place.”