Bryan Mbeumo will make his eagerly anticipated Manchester United debut on Sunday in the final fixture of their American tour. Mbeumo, who joined United from Brentford in a transfer potentially worth £71million, missed the matches against West Ham and Bournemouth because he lacked pre-season conditioning.
However, the Cameroon forward, who scored 20 Premier League goals for Brentford last campaign, will turn out for Ruben Amorim‘s team as they conclude their US conquest against Everton at Atlanta’s Mercedes Benz Stadium. United manager Amorim declared: “He’s going to play. I’m really excited to see him playing and what he can give to our team. But I was also really excited to see the team playing the last game.
“You maybe looked at the starting line-up and said ‘nothing to see today’ but I was so excited because I know we can do better. So I’m always excited, especially at this moment.”
United have recruited Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha this summer, spending £133.5m, and remain hopeful of pushing their summer spend beyond the £200m threshold with the acquisition of £70m-valued striker Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig.
Despite Amorim repeatedly stating his satisfaction with his existing squad, the sole area requiring reinforcement was in attack, with United managing to find the net just 44 times in the Premier League last term. Despite his tireless efforts and commitment, Rasmus Hojlund has found it difficult to score regularly over the past two campaigns following his arrival from Atalanta for an eye-watering £72m fee.
The Denmark striker, who netted the opening goal in United’s 4-1 triumph over Bournemouth at Chicago’s Soldier Field last Wednesday, managed just four Premier League strikes last term, which explains why Amorim has prioritised recruiting a fresh No. 9 this summer.
When questioned about potential squad additions before the transfer deadline, with a new shot-stopper another area under the microscope, Amorim responded: “To hope is a strong word.
“But we are always looking to improve the team and we have some characteristics that we would like to have. But again, it depends on the market. It depends on the sales. We’ll see. But I’m really happy.
“I think even when you talk about Andre [Onana], you can see the other goalkeepers. Even Tom [Heaton] is linear, he’s a different goalkeeper. Altay [Bayindir] did really well and Andre is going to be better like the other guys who are getting better this year.”
United kick off the fresh campaign at home against Arsenal on August 17 and centre-back Ayden Heaven, who switched from the Gunners in January, revealed Amorim’s squad have forged a strong connection during their pre-season travels.
“We’re a really tight bunch,” said Heaven. “It gets tighter every month and we’re like brothers in the changing-room. We’re only going to get a tighter bond between us.
“We’re working really hard in training to become a better team and as you can see in our recent performances and our last game of the season as well, we’ve been really good. We’re going to focus on the Everton game and put in another good performance.
“I’m looking forward to the first game of the season and for us to show the fans what we can do – me included. I can’t wait.”
Content Source: www.express.co.uk