United Beyond Manchester

On December 15, Manchester United will lose three key players for up to one full month. Bryan Mbeumo, Amad Diallo, and Noussair Mazraoui will head to Morocco to represent their nations in Africa’s premier national competition, AFCON.

Mbeumo, Amad, and Mazraoui could each miss up to seven Premier League matches and an FA Cup tie. With these three starters missing, Ruben Amorim will need to find answers in other players. Below, we look at three reserves or underperformers who will need to step up the most during this period.

Mason Mount

Mason Mount, a player Amorim is highly fond of, has already found more playing time this season due to injuries. With Mbeumo gone, Mount will likely step into the starting eleven most often in his place as an attacking midfielder.

Near the midway point of the season, Mount has more goal involvements than he did all of last season. Additionally, only Bryan Mbeumo and Bruno Fernandes have scored more in league play than the English midfielder.

Mount’s connection to Matheus Cunha and whoever plays outside back on his side, either Patrick Dorgu or Diogo Dalot, will be key to United’s run of matches without Mbeumo.

On a personal level, the opportunity carries just as much weight for Mount. His improved form will not have gone unnoticed by Thomas Tuchel, who is weighing his options ahead of the upcoming World Cup. With that in mind, motivation will be high as Mount looks to impress his national team coach and push himself firmly into the Three Lions squad conversation.

Matheus Cunha

It is hard to argue that Matheus Cunha has not impacted this Manchester United team. His pace and driving runs can break down defenses and put the Reds in dangerous positions. However, in over 800 minutes in the Premier League so far, the Brazilian forward has just one goal and one assist.

Given his 23 goals and assists for Wolves last season, United will need Cunha to reproduce that form during the demanding holiday fixture list. With Sesko struggling for consistency amid recurring injuries and Mbeumo set to depart for AFCON, the burden will fall squarely on Cunha to provide a reliable end product.

Patrick Dorgu

Now we come to the defender of the three. Patrick Dorgu has been poor this season. It is as simple as that. His manager recently expressed his frustration with his club play, saying:

“He needs to be calmer playing the game. You can feel the anxiety every time Patrick touches the ball. I can feel the anxiety. You remember the shot against Everton.

“That was easier than the decision he had to make [playing for Denmark] against Scotland.

“He made a great decision, and I saw it when he played in Italy. But here it is different, and sometimes the pressure is hard for them in the beginning, but he has time to improve.”

Dorgu has time on his side at United given his age, but his form must improve immediately, especially with Amad Diallo set to depart for international duty with Ivory Coast.

In league play, the Danish international has just 0.77 expected assists, which is a dismal number for a player in his position. While he does have more minutes, Amad’s expected assists are significantly higher at 2.5, and the Ivorian has provided a more consistent goal threat as well.

Opportunities are coming for Patrick Dorgu, but he must be ready to seize them and deliver a consistent end product to help ease the burden on a depleted midfield and attack.