Manchester United look increasingly likely to face disappointment in their quest to sign Bryan Mbeumo amid claims a transfer to Tottenham Hotspur is gathering pace and with Fabrizio Romano explaining how the prospect of Thomas Frank reuniting with the star was discussed “as soon as he signed his contract” at the club.
The Brentford frontman is one of the summer’s most in-demand stars, having blazed his way to 29 goal contributions (20 goals scored, nine assists) in 42 appearances across the 2024/25 season. And with just a year left on his contract at the Gtech Stadium, the Bees have made it clear that Mbeumo will be allowed to leave this summer if their asking price is met.
That scramble for his signature quickly whittled down to just one side, with the 25-year-old star seemingly making clear his wishes to join Manchester United.
But while the Red Devils have continued to haggle with the Bees over a fee, so far seeing a £45m, plus £10m in bonuses, offer fail, that has opened the door for Tottenham to make their move.
Indeed, Spurs have already lodged a more chunky offer for the star and now the prospect of a U-turn has been talked up by several sources, including transfer journalist Duncan Castles.
And with Sky Sports also revealing the Cameroon international is also ‘intrigued’ by the prospect of reuniting with Frank in north London, Fabrizio Romano has now made clear Frank’s masterplan.
“For sure, there is appreciation from Thomas Frank. And so it’s quite obvious to discuss a target like [Bryan] Mbeumo for Tottenham, because he’s one of the names they discussed internally as soon as he signed his contract as new Tottenham manager,” Romano told Givemesport.
“It’s obvious in football to see these kinds of situations.”
It’s easy to see why Frank would be so keen to reunite with Mbeumo, a player he used more than anyone bar one other man, Christian Norgaard (262 games), while at Brentford together.
Having played under him on 242 occasions, Mbeumo registered 70 goals and 51 assists, including his first 20-goal Premier League season last term.
Mbeumo to Tottenham or Man Utd? What is being said….
While Manchester United still retain a hope they can secure the Mbeumo signing, they have some way to go in order to match Tottenham’s offer, understood to be worth £60m and a further £10m in bonuses.
And while Castles claims United’s new offer for the star is likely to be worth up to £60m, a move to Tottenham now looks a genuine possibility.
“The indication from Manchester United was Mbeumo had chosen to move there and verbally told them that his preference was to move there,” Castles said on The Transfers podcast. “But I’m not hearing exactly the same on that.
“I think there is a good chance that Mbeumo, should Tottenham get to the price that Brentford are asking, that he might choose Spurs ahead of Manchester United.
“There are a couple of obvious reasons for that. One is that it allows him to stay in London and secondly it allows him to carry on playing for Thomas Frank, who has joined Tottenham as the replacement for Ange Postecoglou.”
Despite Castle’s claims, it is worth noting that Romano does not commit either way to saying which way Mbeumo will turn.
And it remains our understanding that Mbeumo’s preference remains on a move to Old Trafford.
To that end, our transfer correspondent Rudy Galetti revealed this week that constructive talks had led to the valuation gap between the two sides being reduced.
That also tallies with Romano’s claims from Thursday of this week when he stated: “They [United] are talking to the club, always in contact with player agents, and with an agreement with Bryan Mbeumo, because the player wants to go to United.
“And so at the moment, United remain frontrunners on this story. Let’s see if they can be able to reach an agreement on the fee with Brentford.”
Mbeumo himself has been keeping a low profile as the two clubs work on thrashing out a compromise.
However, the Sky Sports cameras did catch up with him during Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.
“It is a bit new for me, I would say! I think it can be the life of a footballer and you need to accept it,” the attacker stated.
Mbeumo was also quizzed about his future last month, while appearing alongside his Brentford strike partner Yoane Wissa on former Chelsea star John Obi Mikel’s on The Obi One Podcast.
“I think this is something we can always do. But you need a lot of resilience because you can say, ‘I want to be there’ but if you don’t do [enough] you won’t be able to achieve what you really want,” Mbeumo began.
“I think the mental part is to say to yourself when it’s getting hard, ‘can I go harder, yes’ if you say no, you will stay the good player you are, you can’t be the best.”
During the interview, Mbeumo was also questioned about his mental fortitude to handle the pressures that comes with playing for a club like Manchester United.
“I always wanted to play the biggest game[s] for the biggest club when I was younger,” Mbeumo answered. “It’s easy to say that I want to be there, but obviously you need to put a lot of demand on yourself and I’ve shown what I’m capable of.
“I’m really demanding of myself as well because I know I have the abilities [but] we never know what might happen.”
Man Utd advised to spend money on ‘magnificent’ striker; Spurs to smash record
Meanwhile, United are being urged to spend their money on Victor Osimhen by a talkSPORT pundit, while the Napoli striker’s recent comments on his future have also shed light on his future.
Elsewhere, United will officially welcome Ruben Amorim’s first Old Trafford signing to the club on July 1 – some seven months after they announced his arrival and with the player tipped for a bright future in the game.
Over in north London, Tottenham have reportedly been told they will need to smash their transfer record again to sign a top Bournemouth star this summer after the Cherries’ stance on a sale gave them hope.
And the arrival of Frank as manager has reportedly convinced a world-class Spurs star to abandon his plans to quit the club this summer in what is being billed as a shock U-turn.