Man Utd's secret over trio ahead of Bournemouth game 'with conversations continuing'

Manchester United are keeping secret whether Amad Diallo, Noussair Mazraoui and Bryan Mbeumo will be available to play against Bournemouth.

All three are set to depart for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) at the start of this week but when exactly remains unclear.

And the club is deciding to not reveal their availability so as to create uncertainty for Bournemouth.

FIFA set a date of Monday, December 15, for clubs to release players for the tournament, which begins on Saturday, December 21, but that caused issues for United due to their clash with the Cherries taking place on Monday night.

Club officials have held talks with the federations of Morocco, Ivory Coast and Cameroon over all three players to try and secure an extension and allow them to play Bournemouth before then heading to the tournament, which takes place in Morocco.

On Friday, manager Ruben Amorim said he was still unsure over whether the trio could play in the game and admitted to being frustrated at the situation, just three days out of the match.

"We are still in conversations with national team, the games in Monday, they are training and we are trying to prepare all scenarios," said Amorim.

"It’s frustrating but at the same time nobody knows who is going to play, so it’s a good thing. We have players to cope with everything. With a long week you can work on several stuff to prepare the game."

Amorim hinted on Friday that United might look to use the situation to their advantage, adding: "Every national team has their ideas about when they want the players. I expect today [Friday] or maybe tomorrow [Saturday] to have a decision but we are waiting until the last moment to choose the best team."

United have a final training session on Sunday to fine-tune preparations for the fixture against Andoni Iraola's side, who have stumbled of late. They are winless in sixth and have dropped to 14th in the Premier League table, but have won their last two visits to Old Trafford 3-0.

Mazraoui's Morocco begin their tournament in the opening campaign next Saturday when they face Comoros, which might make his availability the most pressing issue. Amad's Ivory Coast and Mbeumo's Cameroon don't get their tournament under way until Christmas Eve.