Matheus Cunha has revealed a surprise connection that he’s building at Manchester United that could prove vital for Rúben Amorim during AFCON.
Following Manchester United’s 4-4 draw against Bournemouth on Monday evening, Rúben Amorim saw two of his most precious players depart for up to a month due to the Africa Cup of Nations.
With Noussair Mazroaui already unavailable for the tie after linking up with Morocco for the tournament, Bryan Mbeumo and Amad both started at Old Trafford, played 90 minutes each, and departed for AFCON the following day.
Mbeumo is set to play and be a key man for Cameroon, while Amad will be with the Ivory Coast as they look to defend their title, having lifted the trophy in their home country in 2023.
However, while the aforementioned trio will be focused on their tournament, the attention of those around United is on who will be able to replace them.
Cunha explains growing relationship with Shaw
Following the result against Bournemouth, United star signing Matheus Cunha spoke with the club’s media channels regarding how he’s settled into life at Old Trafford.
Having explained that he feels the player he is closest with at the club has so far been his compatriot Casemiro, the Brazilian surprisingly explained that it’s Luke Shaw who’s helped him settle in the best.
“This one I’ll pick Luke Shaw,” the 26-year-old said. “I think he knows a lot about the club, you know, it’s a long time here and then I feel with him, he always like, some of them impact me a lot, how he treat me and like to help me, so I feel so grateful.
“Yeah, I think our relationship is starting to become to be bigger and bigger.”
A Shaw and Cunha partnership could be lethal
The most interesting change Amorim appears set to make while Mazraoui, Mbeumo, and Amad are at AFCON is to play a flat back four rather than his usual three centre-backs and two wing-backs. It was a formation trialled against Bournemouth on Monday evening.
Although Shaw played as a centre-back alongside Ayden Heaven, the loss of Amad on the right may see Diogo Dalot fill in there, leaving the left-back spot free for Shaw to take.
Shaw’s previous best performances came when he played alongside Marcus Rashford, who was a winger who liked to drift inside on his right foot and combine with his midfielders, strikers, and left-back.
If Cunha can replicate something similar off the left flank and use his growing connection with Shaw to good effect, the duo can do a lot to negate the loss of Mbeumo and Amad on the right-hand side.
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