Two ‘quality’ Man Utd stars feeling ‘stress and pressure’ after summer transfers

Manchester United completed several major deals in the summer, bringing in Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, but neither man has yet hit their straps at Old Trafford

Former Manchester United ace Nani believes that Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo were both showing signs of “stress and pressure” in the early weeks of the season following their summer moves.

The pair both moved to Old Trafford – which cost the club £133million. United activated Cunha’s release clause in his Wolves contract to make him their first summer signing before they eventually got a deal over the line to land Mbeumo from Brentford.

United struggled in the opening weeks of the season, winning just one of their first five games in all competitions. Cunha and Mbeumo both missed penalties in the humiliating Carabao Cup loss at Grimsby and only found their best form in moments.

Nani maintained that the duo needed time to adapt to the demands of playing in Manchester. Mbeumo himself has got off the mark, scoring twice, but Cunha remains without a goal, owing in part to an injury lay off, but both men are tipped to make a strong impact.

He told GiveMeSport: “I think they will bring a lot of good things. Like I said, to play for Man United is not the same as playing for any team. There’s a lot of pressure, there’s a lot of history behind it. These players, they’ve got quality, they’ve got power, we know they can do something – but they need time.

READ MORE: Man Utd’s best manager named as Sir Alex Ferguson influence becomes clearREAD MORE: Roy Keane admits Man Utd should be ‘pretty ashamed’ of major decision

“At the beginning of the season, you could see probably some stress, some pressure on top of them, some responsibility, you know. But once they stabilise, they’ll do what they know.”

Old Trafford has been a place where big names go and fail to deliver – a trend dating back well over a decade. United have spent big to sign numerous players who were big successes before they headed to Manchester, only to struggle to replicate that form. The signings of Cunha and Mbeumo were motivated by the fact both men have proven themselves in England.

Cunha and Mbeumo have both netted against United at their previous club. The latter endured a difficult first return to Brentford recently with the Bees beating the Red Devils 3-1 in west London as the pressure further ramped up on Ruben Amorim.

The Portuguese boss needs his new signings to click into gear if they are to climb the table. Mbeumo and Cunha were joined by £74m man Benjamin Sesko, who joined from RB Leipzig, with those in Manchester accepting they need much more firepower.

Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.