Several players in Manchester United’s squad are set to miss out on some Premier League games next season due to their participation in the Africa Cup of Nations.
As Manchester United continue to navigate the summer transfer window, Rúben Amorim is already shaping his squad for the start of the Premier League campaign.
United’s pre-season begins in mid-July, kicking off with a friendly against long-time rivals Leeds United at the Strawberry Arena in Sweden. The team will then head to the United States for a trio of matches against West Ham, Bournemouth, and Everton.
Their final warm-up fixture sees former goalkeeper David de Gea return to Old Trafford with Fiorentina, just a week before the Premier League begins.
The league has now confirmed that United will open their 2025/26 season with a blockbuster home fixture against Arsenal. The match is scheduled for Sunday, 17 August, with a 16:30 BST kick-off.
Meanwhile, the campaign will end with an away clash against Brighton in late May and the entire fixture list in between has been revealed.
Which United games will AFCON trio miss
During this next season, United could have several players heading out with their national teams to compete in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), including a potential signing.
Amad, Noussair Mazraoui and André Onana are all likely to be chosen to play in the tournament and could miss up to six games depending on how far they go in the tournament, which is being played between December and January.
Amorim will be without the trio for games against Aston Villa (A), Newcastle (H), Wolves (H), Leeds (A), Burnley (A) and even potentially the clash against Manchester City at Old Trafford.
This would also impact Bryan Mbeumo, who represents Cameroon with Onana. United are trying to get his signing over the line but Amorim would be without him during this period.
United squad will need to step up
United might not be in four competitions next term but they will need quality depth to get through this period, especially on the right side of the pitch.
You could argue that Mazraoui, Amad and Mbeumo would be the strongest right-hand side within United’s squad if the signing of the Brentford star gets over the line.
There is sufficient depth for the wide centre-back role but players like Mason Mount and Diogo Dalot would probably have to step up in this period unless more new signings come in.
Meanwhile, if the Reds end up signing a new no.2 to Onana, this would be the perfect time for them to prove themselves to Amorim by playing several games on the spin.
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