Bryan Mbeumo will make his Manchester United debut against Everton in Atlanta on Sunday night.
Mbeumo has been catching up on his pre-season preparation since joining United from Brentford for £71million on the eve of the club’s tour of the US.
The Cameroon forward missed the wins over West Ham and Bournemouth in the Premier League Summer Series, but will feature in the final game against Everton at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
‘He’s going to play,’ confirmed head coach Ruben Amorim. ‘I’m really excited to see him playing and what he can give to our team. But I was really excited to see the team playing the last game (against Bournemouth). You maybe look at the starting XI and say “nothing to see today”. And I was so excited because I know we can do better. So, I’m always excited, especially in this moment.’
United’s other big summer signing Matheus Cunha is expected to play alongside Mbeumo after missing the 4-1 win over Bournemouth due to fatigue.
Cunha cost £62.5m from Wolves, but the fact United can spread the cost of his transfer and the Mbeumo deal over multiple instalments has helped the club stay within FFP restrictions and have enough left over to buy a new striker as they continue to pursue RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko.
Bryan Mbeumo will make his Manchester United debut as the club take on Everton on Sunday
Mbauemo is yet to feature for United as he continues to catch up on pre-season preparations
Matheus Cunha is also expected to be involved despite missing their win over Bournemouth
United have saved more than £12m by loaning Marcus Rashford to Barcelona, who are paying all of his £315,000-a-week wages, having previously offset the salaries of Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Antony and Tyrell Malacia by sending them out on loan last season.
They have also banked an additional £20.7m this summer through sell-on clauses after Alvaro Carreras moved to Real Madrid, Anthony Elanga to Newcastle and Maxi Oyedele to Strasbourg, while Chelsea paid a £5m penalty for not honouring their obligation to turn Sancho’s loan at Stamford Bridge into a £25m permanent deal.
United hope to sell Sancho amid interest from his old club Borussia Dortmund and Juventus, while Chelsea are leading the chase for Alejandro Garnacho who is valued at around £40m. Real Betis want to sign Antony and Malacia has been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia.
It means United could still go back into the transfer market to sign a striker, central midfielder and possibly a goalkeeper after Andre Onana was ruled out of the tour games with a hamstring injury. United quoted Monaco a price of £30m for Onana earlier in the window and enquired about Aston Villa’s Emi Martinez and Paris Saint-Germain keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Asked if he hoped to make more new signings, Amorim replied: ‘To hope is a strong word. 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.’
