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Ruben Amorim has predicted that Ayden Heaven will become a regular for Manchester United if the 18-year-old performs as he did on his first start in senior football – and said some former players who have criticised his team “have to understand the context” of their development.
Arsenal academy product Heaven, who joined United from the Gunners for an undisclosed fee in February, followed up a 45-minute appearance in the 1-1 draw at home to his former side in the league on Sunday by playing throughout the 4-1 Europa League win over Real Sociedad at Old Trafford on Thursday.
“If he continues like that, he’s going to play,” Amorim said, adding that United are no longer “losing our minds” and conceding again after teams score against them.
“I really like his confidence; I like his pace. He’s good at defending the box and I think he’s quite complete. But he has a lot of work to do. In the Premier League, he will face a different type of player and he’s going to be tested in a different way.”
Man United v Sociedad
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta suggested earlier this month that he regretted being unable to keep Heaven, who joined United for an undisclosed fee.
The left-footed centre-back was part of a United side who conceded an early goal to fall 2-1 behind on aggregate in the round of 16 second leg against the Spanish side.
Captain Bruno Fernandes swiftly replied from the spot on his way to his first hat-trick of the campaign, with Diogo Dalot’s late strike embellishing a 5-2 aggregate victory to send the hosts through to a quarter-final tie against Lyon.
Amorim: Ex-players ‘see in black and white’
Amorim appeared to address some of the players who helped United become the most successful team in England under legendary former manager Sir Alex Ferguson and have now become high-profile pundits.
The likes of ex-captain Gary Neville and iconic midfielder Paul Scholes, who interviewed Amorim on TNT Sports after the win over Sociedad, have publicly voiced their misgivings over performances throughout an underwhelming domestic season, with Amorim struggling to improve United’s form since his arrival from Sporting in November.
“I understand that former players had a lot of success and the standards for them were so high,” reasoned the Portuguese. “When you play for this team, you have to be prepared for the critics.
“They see [some things] in black and white. Life is not always black and white; there are other colours and you have to understand the context.”
“We need to help him to win titles because he deserves it”
Ruben Amorim is full of praise for Bruno Fernandes following his hat-trick this evening 👏
🎙@JulesBreach | 📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/fjYfb1NZCs
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 13, 2025
Leicester v Man United team news
Amorim explained some of his selection decisions against Sociedad, saying he “didn’t want to risk” Manuel Ugarte and describing Casemiro as “so tired”.
Fellow midfielder Mason Mount will make a “really slow” return from another injury-plagued season, Amorim said, with a potential comeback for Kobbie Mainoo within weeks.
United will target a 10th league win of 2024/25 when they visit second-bottom Leicester City on Sunday (7pm GMT).