Man United head coach Ruben Amorim has plenty of options available to him when it comes to naming his starting XI for the pre-season tour opener against West Ham United.
George is a Senior Football Writer for the Manchester Evening News, mostly covering Manchester United. He previously worked for football.london before joining the MEN team in July 2021. As well as covering United, George is a Championship-enthusiast and co-hosts The Championship Chat Podcast (@Champchatpod24), which you can find on all major podcast platforms.
Bryan Mbeumo (left) could join forces with Matheus Cunha for the first time this weekend.(Image: Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images.)
All eyes will be fixated on Bryan Mbeumo when Manchester United arrive at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey ahead of their pre-season tour opener against West Ham United this weekend.
Following a lengthy period of negotiations with Brentford, United finally secured their man on Monday, signing him for an initial fee of £65million. The deal could eventually be worth up to £71million.
United have prioritised attacking signings this summer and Mbeumo is their second addition of the summer in that area. Matheus Cunha, who also excelled in the Premier League last term, scoring 17 goals for Wolves, arrived last month for £62.5million.
The Brazilian made his first appearance in United colours against Leeds United in Stockholm last weekend, starting as the left-sided No.10, and he offered flashes of what he will bring to Old Trafford.
Having stored 45 minutes under his belt against the Whites, playing in the first half, he will be hoping to increase his minutes against West Ham. After another week’s worth of training, head coach Ruben Amorim may be ready to increase his players’ loads to 60 minutes.
As highly likely as it is that Cunha will start for the second game running, there is less of a guarantee Mbeumo will make the starting XI. After finalising his move to Old Trafford on Monday, he trained with his new teammates on Tuesday morning at Carrington before flying to the US.
Whether or not Amorim has seen enough from him to throw him straight into the starting XI, albeit for a game where the result matters little, remains to be seen. What also remains to be seen is what Amorim will consider as Mbeumo’s best position.
Mbeumo has arrived at Old Trafford having established himself as a right-winger that loves to cut inside and take full advantage of his trustworthy left foot. However, Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 system has no room for natural wingers, meaning Mbeumo is going to have to adapt his game.
The good thing about the 25-year-old, though, is that he is very versatile, meaning he looks like a natural fit for either the right wing-back or right-sided No.10 role. Amad is also equally capable in either position, meaning the duo could generate some healthy competition for one another.
Source:Manchester Evenning News