Man United star Bryan Mbeumo will be unavailable for up to a month between December and January.
Ruben Amorim will be pleased with the way his Manchester United side has started the season. They are just one point off the top four, and unbeaten in their last four matches. They drew 2-2 to Nottingham Forest over the weekend, in what could have been their fourth win in a row.
Over the past few weeks, Bryan Mbeumo has been a massive star for the Red Devils. He scored twice during their 4-2 win against Brighton, and has really proved his worth after moving for a hefty £71m price tag from Brentford in the summer transfer window.
However, the 25-year-old will be unavailable for potentially a month in the winter due to the Africa Cup of Nations, which runs from Sunday 21 December to Sunday 18 January. If his Cameroon side performs well, Man United will have an issue on their hands about who to replace him with.
Amorim plans to replace Mbeumo with Lacey
Whilst Mbeumo is away, not only will his starting XI spot need replacing, but United will also need to add another attacker to their bench. Mason Mount would be the logical player to pick instead of him in his attacking midfield role, but behind him, Amorim has very few options.
According to the Daily Mail, Amorim is very keen to give 18-year-old Shea Lacey more game time and plans to hand him his first-team debut during AFCON when Mbeumo is unavailable. Lacey’s preferred position is attacking midfield on the right-hand side, which is the exact spot Mbeumo plays, so it could end up being a like-for-like swap.
The 18-year-old has performed brilliantly for the Man United youth teams so far in his career. He’s made 44 combined appearances for the U18s, U19s and U21s, scoring nine goals and providing 11 assists. It is reported that Amorim is a huge fan of his and that the 18-year-old could turn out to be the ideal replacement for Mbeumo during AFCON.
Which other Man United players are leaving for AFCON?
The right-hand side of Amorim’s XI is set to be decimated, as Amad Diallo, who has been playing as a wing-back, will also be unavailable. He will be appearing for the Ivory Coast team, who, like Cameroon are considered one of the stronger sides, and so he should be out for several weeks.
Furthermore, Noussair Mazraoui will also be heading to AFCON, as he is a big part of the Morocco side, the same side who managed to reach the World Cup semi-finals in Qatar in 2022. So, inevitably, he is expecting to be at the tournament for an extended period of time, which is a blow for Amorim.
The United boss will also have to consider replacements for Diallo and Mazraoui, but, based on the season so far, the lack of Mbeumo will surely hit the hardest, as the United winger has been simply superb since the start of the season.
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