Ruben Amorim was unable to confirm whether or not Bryan Mbeumo will be available for Manchester United to face Bournemouth.
Bryan Mbeumo has settled down brilliantly at Manchester United and is already the club’s top scorer in 2025/26 with seven goals in all competitions.
United knew when signing the 26-year-old that he would be unavailable over the winter period while away on international duty at AFCON.
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Fifa’s ruling on AFCON was that clubs would withhold players until December 15, but with United playing on that evening against Bournemouth, it has left supporters in the dark about whether or not Mbeumo, Amad Diallo and Noussair Mazraoui will be available.
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Bryan Mbeumo hint dropped ahead of Bournemouth
In the pre-match press conference, Amorim had no update on AFCON departures, saying: “The game is Monday, they are here and training, but we are preparing all the scenarios for the game.”
United remain in talks with the national teams of Mbeumo, Amad and Mazraoui to decide whether or not they can feature against the Cherries at Old Trafford.
IF Amad, Bryan Mbeumo and Noussair Mazraoui aren’t available… who replaces them in each position?🤔
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The day before the match, United published several training photos on Instagram, with one snap revealing Mbeumo still in training with the squad.
It hints at his involvement in the league match on Monday evening, before setting off to join up with the Cameroon national squad.
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Amorim has explained that United remain in touch with Cameroon to decide when Mbeumo should leave to join his national teammates.
Replacing Mbeumo will prove an incredibly difficult task given he has hit the ground running in Manchester following his £65m move from Brentford in the summer.
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AFCON officially begins on December 21 with the opening game between hosts Morocco and Comoros. Mazraoui can expect to play a part in the opener, so his involvement in Monday will be in doubt.
Cameroon play their opening match against Gabon on Christmas Eve as the last of the first group stage fixtures. Even if Mbeumo features against Bournemouth, he will have nine days to recover for that match.
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