Rúben Amorim has revealed that Bryan Mbeumo will not feature against Bournemouth next week as Manchester United continue their pre-season tour.
Rúben Amorim’s Manchester United claimed their first win of pre-season with a 2-1 result against West Ham in New Jersey, led by a clinical double from Bruno Fernandes.
The match got off to a flying start in humid conditions, with Rasmus Højlund striking the post within two minutes. United kept up the tempo and were rewarded when Fernandes calmly slotted home a penalty to open the scoring.
Amad thought he had made it 2-0 after a brilliant setup from Manuel Ugarte, but the goal was ruled out for offside. Fernandes’ early penalty was the difference at the break.
After half-time, United continued to press and Fernandes struck again, lifting the ball over Alphonse Areola following a sharp interception by Kobbie Mainoo.
West Ham pulled one back through Jarrod Bowen on 64 minutes, but Amorim’s sweeping substitutions helped United see out a solid win.
Mbeumo will not play vs Bournemouth
United’s next fixture in the Premier League Summer Series comes at the Soldier Field in Chicago, where they will face off against Bournemouth.
After so much emphasis was made that United securing the £65 million signing of Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford before the club departed to the United States was key to Amorim’s preparations, some were shocked to learn that the Cameroon international had not been named in the squad.
However, the club soon clarified that he had been left out as he was a little behind the rest of the team concerning his pre-season schedule, and therefore was not risked against West Ham.
Further, Amorim has confirmed that the player will also not feature against Bournemouth as they are taking their time with the winger.
“Bryan is just starting slow,” Amorim confirmed in his post-match press conference. “He’s not going to play the next one, we hope to have Bryan in the last game [vs Everton], he’s training now so we’ll see.”
Mbeumo put through his paces after West Ham
After the tie, an interesting detail that must be noted is that Mbeumo was seen being put through his paces with some of the other squad members, suggesting that there are no injury issues.
While Mbeumo reported to Brentford’s second week of pre-season, he did not participate in any grass work and remained in the gym, meaning his fitness is at least two weeks behind that of most of his teammates.
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Mbeumo still has a further three weeks to get up to speed under Amorim. If he plays against Everton next weekend, he will still have additional time on the field against Fiorentina when the club hosts David de Gea’s club at Old Trafford in early August.
There are 21 days until United kick off against Arsenal on 17 August, during the opening weekend of the season, and although Mbeumo’s delayed debut will irk some fans, ultimately Amorim’s focus will be on ensuring his new winger is as ready as possible for the 2025/26 campaign.
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