Amad and Bryan Mbeumo will be available for Manchester United’s game against Bournemouth despite it falling on the deadline day for players to report to their national teams for the Africa Cup of Nations.
The player release deadline for the tournament — which gets underway on December 21 — was pushed back to December 15 from December 8, allowing some players to feature in an extra week of fixtures.
An agreement has been reached with Ivory Coast and Cameroon respectively to let Amad and Mbeumo travel after Monday’s Premier League game, which is the only English top-flight fixture that falls on the deadline day for releasing players. Both teams do not begin their AFCON group stage campaigns until December 24, with Ivory Coast facing Mozambique and Cameroon playing Gabon.
The availability of defender Noussair Mazraoui, however, is uncertain, with hosts Morocco playing the tournament’s opening game against Comoros on Sunday.
Ruben Amorim said after United’s 4-1 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday that the club were in discussions with the national team federations over their players’ situations.
“The club is talking with the national teams,” he said in his post-match news conference. “I don’t know for sure, but we are doing our job and the national teams are talking with us and that is a good sign.”
The Athletic reported on Monday that a tactical shift away from Amorim’s favoured 3-4-2-1 formation could be on the horizon, as United contend with the scheduled absences of Mbeumo, Amad and Mazraoui. All three players have featured on — and at times together formed the entirety of — the right side of Amorim’s starting XI.
Mbeumo started in United’s win over Wolves on Monday, scoring his side’s second goal, his seventh in all competitions this season following his summer move from Brentford. Amad, meanwhile, has started 13 of United’s 15 Premier League matches during the 2025-26 campaign, providing three assists.
Mazraoui has featured 11 times in the Premier League this season, and had started United’s last two matches.
AFCON runs from December 21 to January 18. United play Aston Villa, Newcastle United, Wolves, Leeds United, Burnley and Manchester City in the Premier League over the course of the tournament.
Benjamin Sesko is pushing for inclusion against Bournemouth after spending more than a month out with a knee injury. He has recovered that issue but suffered food poisoning last week, impacting his fitness for three days, and doctors will make a call.
Kobbie Mainoo’s future is only set to be resolved after AFCON is over, with Napoli retaining serious interest. Amorim said he would be “really pleased” if Mainoo comes to talk to him about his future because he wants to “understand” his players.
Napoli sporting director Giovanni Manna is set to handle any proposed Mainoo talks, having already liaised with United over Scott McTominay and Rasmus Hojlund. Manna, who hired Antonio Conte as Napoli won Serie A, has developed a record for signing players with scope to improve and himself is attracting attention from Premier League clubs.
