Manchester United are giving serious thought to abandoning their quest to sign Bryan Mbeumo after a jaw-dropping report raised the possibility of a cut-price move to Tottenham Hotspur instead – though an update from Fabrizio Romano appears to have quickly set the record straight.
Ruben Amorim is desperate to add more goals and creativity to his attack after a bleak 2024/25 campaign resulted in an unacceptable 15th-place finish in the Premier League. And with Manchester United knowing a repeat of any description is simply out of the question, the Portuguese coach has set about signing the players needed to fire the Red Devils back up the table.
However, while a £62.5m deal for Matheus Cunha was quickly secured, getting signing number two over the line, in Mbeumo, has proved a thoroughly frustrating prospect.
After seeing their second bid – believed to be worth £55m up front with a further £7.5m in add-on was rejected – Brentford chief Phil Giles has come out and warned United that the player could ultimately end up staying at the Gtech Arena for another season if their asking price is not met.
And while United are yet to submit a third offer officially, reports on Monday floated the idea that United could walk away from a deal, partially owing to the Bees using the recent transfers of Joao Pedro to Chelsea (£55m, plus £5m) and Anthony Elanga (£55m to Newcastle, albeit not yet done) as gauges and feeling they are right to stand their ground over Mbeumo’s asking price and feeling the Cameroon forward is a superior player.
And with reports stating United could instead use the funds to chase a new No.9 instead, it’s been heavily suggested a move to Tottenham Hotspur could now be resurrected instead – and for a price lower than initially suggested.
That’s according to club expert John Wenham, who told Tottenham News: “Manchester United are now looking at [Ollie] Watkins..
“They’re unlikely to sign Watkins and Mbeumo, and there’s also an interesting subplot here. If you remember when Tottenham tried to sign David Raya, Brentford wanted £40million.
“As the window went on, nobody was paying the £40m and they ended up loaning him to Arsenal and he then joined permanently for much less than £40m. I could see that happening with Mbeumo where he becomes available at the end of the window for less.
“Brentford might realise nobody is going to pay the asking price. They want a fee which eclipses what United paid for Matheus Cunha, who I believe is a better player.”
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Despite Wenham’s prophecy, we understand that, as things stand, Spurs are not looking to resurrect any offer for Mbeumo and are instead putting their energies into securing a deal for Mohammed Kudus.
They have already seen two offers knocked back by West Ham, the second one which is understood to be worth £50m (€58m / $68m), plus £12.5m (€14.5m $17m) in additional variables.
However, after being told the Hammers are willing to sell for £65m, with a larger chunk of the money upfront, a club record-equalling deal could be close for Spurs.
As for United, we also understand they remain fully vested in trying to persuade the Bees to part with Mbeumo, though now know they will need to further raise their offer to get a deal over the line.
Providing an update on the now long-running saga, transfer expert Romano shared this on his X account: ‘Manchester United’s absolute focus remains on Bryan Mbeumo deal with talks set to continue this week.
‘No agreement with Brentford last week but MUFC keep working on it and Bryan also keeps giving priority to United move. Deal on.’
Kudus rejects Euro heavyweights for Spurs; United eye ‘total footballer’
As for Kudus, Spurs have been given serious heart that a move is edging closer after the Ghanaian was reported to have signalled his intent to swap West Ham United for Tottenham after rejecting a late approach from one of European football’s elite clubs.
Kudus could replace the legendary Son Heung-min in north London and now the chances of the forward accepting the chance to join MLS outfit LAFC have been revealed by two sources, with a key commercial factor impacting the timeline of the Tottenham Hotspur captain’s potential exit.
Over at United, the Red Devils have learned that a key midfield target, available for a bargain fee this summer, has greenlit a potential move to Old Trafford.
Elsewhere, United director of football Jason Wilcox is ready to make his move for a Dutch teenage talent already branded a ‘total footballer’ in an effort to beat Real Madrid to his signature.