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There are a number of Manchester United players benefiting from a change in head coach. Erik ten Hag’s October dismissal was a long time coming, with the FA Cup triumph against Manchester City in May affording the Dutchman a reprieve. It is now up to Ruben Amorim to restore United to their former glory.

The Portuguese manager has made a solid start to life at Old Trafford, overseeing home wins against Bodø/Glimt and Everton along with a commendable draw at Ipswich in his first match in the job. Marcus Rashford is back among the goals, while Joshua Zirkzee netted twice against Everton on Sunday, scoring for the first time since the opening-day win against Fulham.

The main success story, though, is Amad Diallo. Underused by Ten Hag and starting two of Ruud van Nistelrooy’s four-game interim reign, Diallo has begun both league games since and featured for the final 30 minutes of the Europa League win, suggesting he is firmly part of Amorim’splans.

Many expected Amorim to implement the three-man backline he utilised during his time with Sporting and that has come to pass. Similarly, he often flanked them with Geovany Quenda and Maximiliano Araújo, wingers withdrawn to wing-back, a tactic he has also deployed inManchester.

Though many suspected he might be used as one of the two supporting attackers, Amad found a home at right wing-back under Amorim. He has taken to the role like a duck to water, assisting three of the five league goals United have scored under their new manager. It is a small sample size, but supporters should be optimistic about the 22-year-old being able tomaintain his form. After all, Diallo has registered more assists than any other player in the Premier League since the start of November (four). Over the course of the campaign, he also has more assists than Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Luis Díaz, Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden (five).

In using Diallo at right wing-back, Amorim is granting the youngster the freedom to drive at opponents with the ball at his feet. While he had this chance on the wing under Ten Hag, doing so fromdeeper means there is more space into which he can run to quickly set United on the front foot. This is a staple of the way Amorim’s Sporting side attacked, with the wing-backs required to provide the width in the system.

Illustration: WhoScored

This was clear to see in United’s win over Everton. While a majority of their attacks came down the left (44%), Diallo was often higher up the pitch than starting left wing-back, Diogo Dalot, as the above graphic shows. So it is no surprise he made more key passes (three) and completed more dribbles (four) than any other player , proving to be a hugely effective attacking outlet.

Factor in his four tackles – no player made more – and it is easy to see why Amorim was so pleased with him. “He was really good defending, and really good attacking, so he has to continue to play like that,” Amorim said.

The first real test for Amorim and his system comeson Wednesday when United make the trip to Arsenal. Mikel Arteta’s side have rediscovered their swagger after Martin Ødegaard’s return from injury, seeing out November with three successive wins and scoring 13 goals in the process.

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Arsenal will feel confident of maintaining their impressive upturn in form, though they need to guard against complacency . Diallo, providing he features from the outset, will have ample space to build a head of steam, with only 32% of Arsenal’s attacks coming down the left, the lowest in England’s top tier, as they focus their efforts down the right.

Illustration: WhoScored

Arteta also has concerns at left-back after Riccardo Calafiori was forced off in the 5-2 win at West Ham, while the stand-in, Oleksandr Zinchenko, doesn’t offer the same defensive resolve. While Arteta is hoping the former can recover in time to feature against United, either will struggle to contain Diallo given his rapid adaptation to Amorim’s wing-back demands.

Grossly undervalued by Ten Hag, since his departure, Diallo has quickly established himself as a key man and if the three-man defence is to succeed at Old Trafford early indications suggest that the Ivorian has a significant role to play.

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