Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim warned that new arrival Bryan Mbeumo is being “slowly” integrated into the club’s pre-season preparations and will not be available until the end of their U.S. tour.
Amorim’s side kicked off the Premier League Summer Series with a 2–1 victory over West Ham United at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey this weekend. Matheus Cunha earned his second start of the summer after completing a £62.5 million ($84 million) move from Wolverhampton Wanderers but was not joined by fellow new recruit Mbeumo.
The former Brentford talisman is part of United’s touring squad—unlike the club’s four unwanted cast-offs—yet wasn’t quite ready for an unofficial debut. United’s clash with Bournemouth next week will also come too soon.
“Bryan is starting slowly,” Amorim told MUTV. “He is not going to play in the next one. We hope to have Bryan in the last game [in the U.S.]. He’s training now, so we’ll see.”
United conclude their American tour with a matchup against Everton at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Sunday, Aug. 3, which could prove to be Mbeumo’s belated debut. The Red Devils have another friendly with Fiorentina scheduled for the following weekend before they begin their Premier League campaign with a meaty clash against Arsenal on Sunday, Aug. 17.
Amorim was tasked with already looking ahead to that fixture following Saturday’s friendly and insisted that all 11 spots in the starting lineup are still up for grabs. “It’s a strong team and we need to prepare all the players, and we don't have a lot of weeks or a lot of games to prepare all the team,” the Portuguese boss warned. “That can change, you saw in the second half, there are players who can play in the first game. It’s not a decision I made already.”
Mbeumo will be hoping to get out on the pitch at some point this summer to make his own case for inclusion.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Ruben Amorim Reveals When Bryan Mbeumo Will Make Man Utd Debut.