After the Newcastle game, United have four games in a fortnight, culminating in the FA Cup third-round tie with Brighton. Centre-back Lisandro Martinez was Fernandes' direct replacement against Villa and did a decent enough job. However, last month Amorim said he would only use the Argentina international in midfield as an 'emergency' which underlines the issue. On Friday the former Sporting coach said he was not prepared to panic buy and would only go after pre-existing targets. "Of course, we are in a moment where we need points, but we need to find solutions, and we are going to continue with our plan.

Source: BBC December 21, 2025 21:09 UTC