Manchester United are reportedly keeping the availability of their three Africa Cup of Nations call-ups under wraps ahead of Monday night’s clash with Bournemouth. The club are attempting to maintain secrecy around the matter as talks continue regarding whether the key players will feature.
Bryan Mbeumo, Amad, and Noussair Mazraoui have all received international call-ups for AFCON, which commences next week in Morocco. The mandatory release date falls on Monday, December 15, precisely when United face Bournemouth in the Premier League, creating significant uncertainty over their participation.
« We are still in conversation with national teams, » Ruben Amorim said on Friday regarding the trio’s status. « The game is Monday, they are here, they are training, and we are trying to prepare all the scenarios to prepare the game.
« It’s frustrating, but nobody knows who’s going to play. It’s a good thing – we have players to cope with everything, and that’s something [you get] with a long week, you can see a lot of things and work on several stuff to prepare the game. »
The Sun claim that United have granted special status to the three players, declining to confirm their availability despite likely having clarity on all three by this stage. Amorim has two starting teams in mind for the final training session on Sunday, with preparation set for whichever way the decision goes.
« I don’t know if it’s going to be the same situation [with each player], » Amorim added on the three players. « It depends on the games of every national team. They have their ideas about when they want the players.
« I expect today to have a decision or maybe tomorrow, but we are waiting until the last moment to [see if we can] have all the players available, to choose the best team to start the game. »
The absence of all three players will prove a setback for Amorim over the coming weeks, as each has fulfilled crucial roles in the enhanced form the team has displayed thus far.
Since his summer arrival at United, Mbeumo has netted seven goals and provided one assist across all competitions, whilst bringing a menace that was absent during the previous campaign.
He is expected to link up with Cameroon in the forthcoming days, who commence their AFCON campaign against Gabon on December 24, whilst turmoil continues at the summit of Fecafoot.
Amad’s expedition with the Ivory Coast commences on the same date against Mozambique, with the 23-year-old providing crucial width to the squad as a wing-back in recent weeks.
Regarding Mazraoui, he and Morocco are staging the tournament and open proceedings on December 21 against Comoros. All three players have been instrumental, as evidenced by United’s efforts to ensure their participation in the upcoming Bournemouth match on Monday.
Whether they will be fit to play remains uncertain. If they’re sidelined, it will provide an initial insight into how Amorim intends to manage their absences in the coming weeks.
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