Ruben Amorim issues new demand after losing THREE Man Utd stars for Aston Villa

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Ruben Amorim has called on Manchester United ’s squad to step up in the absence of their AFCON-bound stars. The Red Devils take on Aston Villa this weekend and are set to be without summer signings Bryan Mbeumo, Amad and Noussair Mazraoui .

The trio have linked up with the Cameroon, Ivory Coast, and Morocco squads, respectively, ahead of the African Cup of Nations . And while the United boss is aware of the impact their absences could have, he has called on the rest of the squad to step up during the tournament.

"We need to play a little bit different," Amorim said to MUTV ahead of Sunday’s trip to Villa Park. "We lost some one-against-one. We will see but we'll be ready for the game.

"It's perfect, it's not perfect as we don't have all the players, but we are ready. We have players that can solve the game for us, so are happy with that.

"Yes [we have lost Amad and Mbeumo] and also Nous," Ruben continued. "So Nous is also really important for us but, when one player is out, we have opportunities for other players.

"Last year, in some games, we managed to win, especially in Europe, without Amad. Bryan was not here, so we already have those moments of difficulty. So we are ready, more than ready, to cope with that."

And while United will be without Mbeumo, Amad and Mazraoui for the foreseeable future, one man who will provide Amorim with a considerable boost is Benjamin Sesko. The Slovenian is now back in contention having missed four matches with a knee injury, while he made a substitute appearance last time against Bournemouth .

"I think he is a different type of striker," Amorim said about the forward. "The only one in that part because Josh [Zirkzee] is more like a no.9 and 10 at the same time, a little bit like Cunha. Ben is a guy who likes to be in the box. He makes a lot of runs.

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"Of course, if you look at him, you can feel that he has so much more to give. He is improving the physicality, he was one month without playing, but he is ready and he is going to help us."

United could potentially jump into the top four with victory against Aston Villa. They will follow up a trip to the Midlands with a Boxing Day clash with Newcastle at Old Trafford.

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