Man United head coach Ruben Amorim will find some decisions easier than others when selecting his starting XI for the season opener.
George is a Senior Football Writer for the Manchester Evening News, mostly covering Manchester United. He previously worked for football.london before joining the MEN team in July 2021. As well as covering United, George is a Championship-enthusiast and co-hosts The Championship Chat Podcast (@Champchatpod24), which you can find on all major podcast platforms.
Ruben Amorim embraces Bryan Mbeumo after the latter is substituted against Fiorentina.
Bryan Mbeumo has made a promising start to his Manchester United career.
(Image: Molly Darlington/Getty Images.)
In the blink of an eye, pre-season has been and gone for Manchester United.
They brought their pre-season schedule to a close with a 1-1 draw against Fiorentina at Old Trafford on Saturday before winning on penalties to win the Snapdragon Cup.
After producing performances in the US that were sharp and crisp, United were almost as lacklustre against Fiorentina as they were in their pre-season opener against Leeds three weeks earlier.
The game was light on chances and United failed to impose themselves on their Italian visitors in the way head coach Ruben Amorim would have hoped. He must see a significant improvement against Arsenal on Sunday.
Despite the underwhelming nature of United's overall performance, there were some positives in United's fifth and final warm up match of the summer, not least the combination play between Bryan Mbeumo and Amad down the right.
After making his first appearance in United colours in the 2-2 draw against Everton in Atlanta, Mbeumo made a second consecutive start on Saturday, being deployed in the right-sided No.10 position.
Amad, who was one of only two players to start all five of United's friendlies, was deployed at right wing-back and the duo linked up well in the first half.
Despite only spending 45 minutes on the pitch together during the tour of the US, they offered plenty of signs to suggest they have already formed a strong understanding of each other's individual games.
Sharing the same ambition of getting on the front foot, making runs into the penalty area and occupying attacking positions, the duo interchanged quite nicely until Mbeumo was sent up front for the second half.
Bryan Mbeumo in action for Manchester United against Fiorentina.
Bryan Mbeumo had an encouraging afternoon against Fiorentina.
Regularly overlapping and underlapping each other, they offered signs of their understanding and mutual hunger to get United into promising positions. Both players are also left-footed, meaning they want to regularly come inside and make full use of their stronger foot.
Mbeumo is having to adapt his game slightly from his Brentford days. He was regularly stationed on the right-wing at the Gtech Community Stadium, but he is playing a more inverted role at Old Trafford, though he will drift out wide from time to time depending on Amad's movements.
Between them, Amad and Mbeumo scored 31 goals last season, meaning United will be expecting plenty of attacking output from their right flank this term. Amorim already has an "idea" in his mind about what his starting XI for the visit of Arsenal will look like and it is likely Amad and Mbeumo will be part of it.
Amad was one of only two players who started every friendly, meaning he is a nailed on starter for the season curtain-raiser. He has adapted to Amorim's 3-4-2-1 system really well since the latter's appointment last November and is the only winger from the pool of wide men Amorim inherited that is still part of his plans.
Both Amad and Mbeumo are interchangeable, capable of playing on the flank or as the right-sided No.10, meaning there is a high probability we will see Mbeumo out wide at some point and Amad operating closer to the penalty area. Amorim's approach could vary depending on the opposition.
Although Mbeumo is still gaining match sharpness after just two appearances in pre-season, his first two outings in United colours have been promising.
He will be an asset for the Reds this season and Amad is already showing signs of developing a rapport with him.