Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has revealed he is “more than happy”
with forward Bryan Mbeumo since his summer signing.
Mbeumo joined the Reds from Brentford, who we're set to meet on Saturday lunchtime, giving the Cameroon international an early opportunity to return to his former employers.
Amorim discussed that occasion, along with team news, an update on Amad's absence and searching for back-to-back Premier League wins, with the assembled media at Carrington before the team travelled down done to west London on Friday afternoon.
Keep scrolling for everything the boss had to say in the first part of his press conference...
Afternoon Ruben, looking ahead to tomorrow, what's the availability?
“I think Licha [Martinez] is out. Casemiro is out because of the red card. Amad is not here, someone in his family passed away, so we are giving all the support to Amad, and we understood that was important for him to have his time and to return home [in Manchester]. The rest are fit and ready to play.”
And [Noussair] Mazraoui?
“He’s not also. He's not going to be [available] until we stop for the national teams, so he's out also.”
You got a very important win last weekend. How important is it now to finally get back-to-back Premier League wins?
“Yeah, it's really important, and we talked about that at the end of the game. It's really important for us to have that sense of urgency that we need to win no matter what, and it's going to be really difficult. Every time we start preparing the game and you watch the next opponent, you think, ‘It's going to be really, really tough’. I have that feeling. We cannot control the result of the game, but for me, the most important thing is to start the game the way we started against Chelsea, the way we started against Burnley, the way we started against Arsenal. These kinds of games, we need to be really focused and to have that feeling that we need to win every match.“
It's a big game for Bryan Mbeumo on his return to Brentford. In his short time here, how important has he become to your team?
“It's really important for everything that he has been doing. The light that he brings to the dressing room. He’s not the guy who talks more, but you can feel it, that he is always there to help us. He runs a lot, he presses a lot. It's a different threat compared to last season. He can take set pieces, and that is really important in this league. So, I'm more than happy with Bryan.”
Has he surprised you at all? Because some players struggle to deal with the demands of playing for this club, but not him, obviously?
“That is also the good thing, to have time to know the player when you want to bring players [in], then you can see every week the player [in the Premier League]. That was really important for us to bring new players from our league. So, you can understand what they are doing week by week against the opponents they are going to face, so that can help us, so the risk is completely different from other players. But in the end, you never know. So, we were lucky with Bryan.”
Just on Bryan, and also bringing in the likes of Matheus [Cunha], obviously you brought in Premier League proven players this summer. How important was that? And do you think that's a strategy you can see continuing going forward?
“It depends because you can see that every player that you want to buy in [the] Premier League is really expensive, so you have to also manage that. But if you look to our moment last year, you want to take the least risky move. It was really important to have top players in our team. And I think if you look at Bryan, and Cunha, it’s not just one year, they are doing this for years. So, it was really important, of course, was something that we look for, players in the Premier League.”
Just on Amad, the club and yourself have shown a bit of compassion to let him go home after a family bereavement. I just wonder, does the footballing world maybe need to show that as well, maybe with fans? Because he received a lot of messages on social media after the Chelsea game...
“I'll always say the same thing to my players: shut down social media. Nowadays it’s like that, it’s the price you have to pay. But the important thing is that the club and the friends, that is real life for Amad. We are here for him. It's a tough moment and in these kinds of moments, it’s not important, the next game. We can win without Amad, and we want to win also for Amad.”
If you want the improvement that you're seeking, you need to win games in a row. Do you feel confident about that? Because I think a lot of fans don't really trust the team to be able to play two games back-to-back well...
“I don't say playing well because I think we did that this year, but it's normal [for the fans to say this], they don't know what is going to happen the next game. And to be completely honest, I have an idea, but I don't know how it's going to be, and I'm the manager of the team. That has to be with the moment that we live for so many months. So, I think the best way of dealing with that is that every game is the last one. It's just not thinking about two games. Okay, it's not too many games for Manchester United. Yes, it's a big deal for Manchester United. So, the next game is going to be the most important game for a long time in Manchester United. So, I understand the feeling of the fans. So, let's start changing that feeling, and to present ourselves with that urgency that we need on the pitch.”