Cunha impresses Amorim on United debut in drab Leeds friendly | OneFootball

Ruben Amorim praised new signing Matheus Cunha’s impact during Manchester United’s drab goalless draw against Leeds in Stockholm.

The former Wolves star man played in the No.10 role, alongside captain Bruno Fernandes, as Chido Obi led the line in a strong United starting XI.

And despite the uneventful 90 minutes that followed, Amorim was suitably impressed by what he saw from his £60m signing in the first 45.

Speaking to MUTV, Amorim said: “I think Matheus Cunha showed what we need, that he’s the player when he receives the ball between the lines he can be really aggressive in the direction of the opponent.”

Fellow new signing Diego Leon also showed promising signs and Amorim has called for patience to allow the 18-year-old to adjust to his new surroundings.

“We have to understand the kid came from Paraguay,” he added.

“It’s his second week, he’s done well. He’s powerful, and he’s learning. He’ll be a very good player.”

Casemiro also started in midfield, a position in which Amorim conceded United are ‘lacking pace’.

“We suffered a little bit when we tried to press high. They kicked the ball with the second ball, they were dangerous in that moment,” he continued.

“We have a lack of pace, especially in the middle of the park, and you can feel that’s hard to bring the ball.  We have a lot to do but it was the first test against a Premier League team with two different teams, so it was a big test.

“We watched [Cunha] during last season in a different team, so we expect the same thing.

“You can see the connection between him and Bruno (Fernandes) is still not there but it’s going to be a good connection because you can put a player like Kobbie (Mainoo) there, Mason Mount there. We have to increase our quality in the final third.”

United now fly to Chicago on Tuesday for their three-game pre-season tour in the Premier League Summer Series.

After their worst campaign in 51 years, Amorim is desperate to create a harmonious atmosphere within the squad ahead of their Premier League season opener against Arsenal in four weeks.

“I felt the environment is really good,” he acknowledged.

“Sometimes we are going to struggle but we struggle together, and that is the beginning of everything. And then we have to put the quality, this club is not just about the effort, you have to have the quality you have to win games.

“We need to create that bond between everybody, not just them but the staff. All the changes are stopping, so we need to leave that as a group, we have a lot to improve, the speed of the game, all of the details. And we are going to improve.”