The Sun: Manchester United will reject all players’ requests to leave, including Menu, due to the African Cup of Nations

Hupu, October 27 According to "The Sun" reporter Samuel Luckhurst, Manchester United is preparing to reject all players' applications to leave the team in the January winter window because of expected lineup shortages.

Menu and Zirkzee have limited playing time this season, but they are expected to play key roles during the Christmas schedule. With Mbemo and Amad almost certain to represent their respective countries in the African Cup of Nations, the Red Devils will lose these two influential attackers in December, while full-back Mazrawi will also play for the host Morocco.

This Africa Cup of Nations will start before Christmas, and Mbemo (Cameroon) and Amad (Ivory Coast) are likely to represent the national team on Christmas Eve. The group stage lasts until New Year's Eve, the final is scheduled to be held on January 18, and the winter window closes at 7 pm on February 2. Although Manchester United successfully postponed Onana's registration time when the 2023-24 Africa Cup of Nations kicked off in mid-January - thanks to the fact that the event coincided with the team's winter break and Cameroon stopped in the top 16, the goalkeeper only missed one game.

The absence of top scorer Mbemo, Amad and Mazrawi will cause Manchester United to lose three important options on the right. The 26-year-old Mbemo has scored five goals since his £65 million move from Brentford, forming a tacit right-wing partnership with Amad in coach Amorim's 3-4-2-1 system.

The 21-year-old Menu has not started a Premier League game since May. His only start this season was the League Cup loss to fourth-tier team Grimsby in August. Although Manchester United rejected the midfielder's request to leave on loan before the summer window closed, he is still the only player among the five midfield options who has not made a league debut. Zirkzee, who is worth 36.5 million pounds, has only played 90 minutes this season (a total of 5 appearances). The last time he started for Manchester United was back in April.

The 24-year-old Zirkzee suffered a hamstring injury six months ago and missed the entire pre-season preparations as a result, but his chances of getting a stable appearance at Manchester United are still slim. Amorim does not regard him as a pure center. In the 9 league games Zirkzeko has played this season, 4 games have used the forward-less formation of Mbemo, Cunha and Mount.