There is a hidden reason behind Bryan Mbeumo’s delayed debut for Manchester United as the new date for his first minutes on the pitch has been revealed.
Manchester United opened their Premier League Summer Series campaign with a 2-1 win over West Ham at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Rúben Amorim’s side looked sharper and more energetic from the first whistle, controlling the tempo and putting West Ham under early pressure.
That intensity led to the opening goal, as Ayden Heaven pounced on a goalkeeping mistake to win a penalty, which Bruno Fernandes converted with ease.
United’s dominance continued into the second half. Kobbie Mainoo pressed high to win back possession and linked up with Fernandes, who produced a classy lob to double the lead.
West Ham pulled a goal back through Jarrod Bowen against the run of play, but United held on comfortably to seal the win in their first pre-season outing.
New signing Bryan Mbeumo was not involved in the match, with the forward watching from the sidelines as he continues to settle into the squad.
Hidden reason behind Mbeumo’s delayed United debut
It was revealed before the game that Mbeumo was absent due to the fact that he is behind the rest of the squad in his pre-season preparations.
Then afterwards, Amorim confirmed that the 25-year-old is not going to play the next pre-season game against Bournemouth as well.
Mbeumo joined United’s training at the beginning of the week but it had been reported that he was in Brentford training beforehand for a week.
This would seem like enough time on the grass to play in pre-season fixtures but recent reports revealed that Mbeumo didn’t actually take part in team training when he returned to Brentford and only worked in the gym on his own during that first week.
It appears that this is the hidden reason as to why he is not yet playing with his United teammates, who are around two weeks ahead of him in their schedule.
Mbeumo’s new debut date set
Mbeumo’s debut looks like it will be coming against Everton in the final game of the US tour, with the game being played on Sunday, 3 August at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
“He’s not going to play the next one, we hope to have Bryan in the last game [of the US tour], he’s training now so we’ll see,” Amorim said on the weekend.
Some will view this as a blow as the new signings were supposed to get time on the pitch ahead of the season but others do not think it’s as serious.
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Mbeumo will still get to have two warm-up games before the Premier League opener against Arsenal and he has also been in training with the United squad every day, which is more important than playing 45 minutes in a friendly.
Still, fans will be excited to see him finally take to the pitch when the Everton game comes around on the weekend.
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