Ruben Amorim has expressed that Matheus Cunha still has “levels to go” at Manchester United, encouraging the forward to focus less on his limited goal tally since his summer transfer from Wolves.
Cunha is expected to rejoin the squad ahead of West Ham’s visit to Old Trafford on Thursday after sitting out the last two matches due to a head injury sustained during training.
Since his £62.5m transfer from Molineux, the 26-year-old has managed just one goal in 11 appearances.
Despite this, Amorim reassured the Brazil international that evaluating players solely on stats is not the best approach.
“He has more levels to reach,” Amorim stated during a press conference on Wednesday.
“He’s at a new club facing different pressures. He struggled with his scoring rate and was overly focused on the numbers, but his overall influence on the team is crucial for us.”
Cunha has been cleared to play against West Ham, though Benjamin Sesko and Harry Maguire will remain out of action.
Amorim mentioned he has two other injury concerns before the match, one of whom could be captain Bruno Fernandes, who appeared to be in discomfort at the end of Sunday’s 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace.
“We have two uncertainties for the game,” said Amorim.
“I’m not going to disclose them now as it may affect our game plan. We’ll assess their fitness before deciding. The rest of the squad is good, Matheus is back, but I have two players whose availability is questionable.”
Amorim faces a decision on whether to start Leny Yoro against West Ham. The young player conceded a penalty against Palace and appeared dejected while sitting on the bench after being substituted in the second half.
Yoro was consoled by Mason Mount following the match as players and staff celebrated with the away fans at Selhurst Park.
“I talked to him because he tends to overthink,” Amorim explained.
– Man United benefit from AFCON release delay
– How many goals until Haaland beats Ronaldo’s Premier League tally?
– Why has André Onana been dropped for AFCON?
“He made a mistake in the game and his response was challenging because he’s so young and wants to perform perfectly. It’s a learning process for him. He cannot let his frustrations affect his demeanor when leaving the pitch; he understands this, even though he was visibly upset.
“On the positive side, it shows he cares. He realizes it wasn’t his best performance, but he also had some good moments, which I made sure to highlight. He’s fit and ready for the next challenge.”