© Imago Manchester United are in pole position to sign Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo, but the Bees will reportedly make it challenging to pry him away to Old Trafford.
Brentford are reportedly determined to attain a sizeable transfer fee for Bryan Mbeumo from Manchester United this summer.
Boss Ruben Amorim has the opportunity to shape his squad in his own image now that the 2024-25 season is over, with the addition of Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Matheus Cunha the beginning of his rebuild.
United are also said to be Brentford forward Mbeumo’s preferred destination despite the fact that other interested sides such as Newcastle United can offer him Champions League football.
However, the club will have to be wary of their expenditure given their failure to qualify for Europe has squeezed their finances significantly.
The news reported by the Telegraph that Brentford are set to demand over £60m for the signature of the 25-year-old will be concerning to Red Devils co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who has stressed the importance of cutting costs.
Why United need Mbeumo
United ended the 2024-25 Premier League season having scored just 44 goals, their worst return since the 1973–74 campaign when they were relegated to Division 2.
Mbeumo ended last term having netted 20 league goals, just two goals fewer than Amad Diallo (eight), Alejandro Garnacho (six), Rasmus Hojlund (four) and Marcus Rashford (four) managed as a collective.
His tally was only bettered in the top flight by Erling Haaland (22), Alexander Isak (23) and Mohamed Salah (29), while Bruno Fernandes (10) is the only United player to have bettered Mbeumo’s return of seven Premier League assists in 2024-25.
It is important to note that with Rashford and Garnacho likely leaving the club, the Red Devils will lack pace in the forward line, so Mbeumo could be useful when Amorim wants to stretch opposition defences.
Are United taking a risk with Cunha and Mbeumo?
If Cunha and Mbeumo are able to replicate their performances from last season next term, then there is no doubt that the Red Devils will pose much more of a threat in the final third.
However, both ranked in the top three for xG overperformance, with Cunha scoring 15 goals from 8.6 xG and Mbeumo scoring 20 goals from 12.3 xG.
While statistics are rarely definitive measurements of a player’s quality, it is rare for someone to consistently overperform their expected goals metric, and it would not be surprising to see a drop in output in 2025-26.
United must be sure that the two stars are still able to contribute positively to the side, as it remains to be seen if the club can afford any more expensive disappointments given their financial troubles.