Bryan Mbeumo is reported to becoming increasingly agitated by Brentford’s refusal to accept Manchester United’s proposal for him as they weigh up a third bid – while one transfer expert has thrown open the possibility of a move to Tottenham Hotspur being resurrected.
The Red Devils have honed in on the signing of the 25-year-old Cameroon forward as the latest recruit to boost their attack – and Ruben Amorim would love to pair him up with fellow new arrival Matheus Cunha as one of two No.10s in his 3-4-2-1 Manchester United formation in the upcoming 2025/26 season.
But while getting a deal for over the line for Cunha was a relatively simple process, United appear to have hit a dead end in their negotiations over Mbeumo, having seen Brentford rejecting both their proposals so far.
Indeed, while that second offer was worth a Cunha-matching £62.5m (£55m up front and £7.5m in add-ons), the Bees have again stood their ground. And in the wake of Joao Pedro’s move to Chelsea for a fee topping £60m and with Anthony Elanga’s move to Newcastle set to go through for £55m, the London side have further stood their ground, feeling Mbeumo is the superior player and worth every penny of their apparent £65m (€75m, $88m) asking price.
Furthermore, with David Ornstein now confirming the Bees have finalised a £12m agreement (£10m up front, plus bonuses) for captain Christian Norgaard to join Arsenal, Keith Andrews’ side are now further standing their ground and continuing to play hard ball over the Mbeumo fee.
Now, according to the Standard, Mbeumo is ‘growing increasingly frustrated’ by the failure of the two sides to settle on a fee and having made clear to all parties that he wants to make the move to Old Trafford this summer.
Revealing the 96-goal attacker’s ‘anger’ at the delay, the report claims that while Brentford are open to a third offer from United for the wantaway star, they are yet to make contact over a raised bid, with the delay also said to be causing increased stressed levels for manager Ruben Amorim, who ideally wanted Mbeumo in place ahead of his deadline of Monday July 7, which has now been missed.
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The Standard reports that Mbeumo was a United fan as a youngster and very much fancies the move, having been offered further encouragement by the apparent £150,000 a week salary on offer; currently three times the value of the packet he receives at the Gtech Stadium.
Indeed, the ongoing delay in United’s failure to strike a deal has led to suggestions the move could be aborted and that an astonishing transfer to his fellow suitors, Tottenham Hotspur, could yet be resurrected for a cut-price fee.
Adding a further sub-plot to proceedings, Spurs expert John Wenham believes the Red Devils could look to try and sign an Aston Villa star instead.
“Manchester United are now looking at [Ollie] Watkins,” he said.
“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.”
Despite Wenham’s prophecy, we understand that, as things stand, Spurs are not looking to resurrect a move for Mbeumo and are instead putting their energies into securing a deal for Mohammed Kudus.
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 and are prepared to play a more patient game – much to Amorim’s apparent frustrations.
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.’
However, the Bees are clearly in no mood to sanction their star man’s exit for a fee lower than the value they believe he is worth. And their director of football, Phil Giles, now claims Mbeumo could STAY in south-west London if their demands are not met.
Giles stated: “He had a fantastic season. We expected big interest in him, we have had big interest in him.
“He has his ideas about where he wants to take his career. He is well within his rights to do that.”
And in a chilling warning to the Red Devils, he added: “It is not impossible he is still a Brentford player next season if we agree he is going to stay.”
Man Utd transfer latest: Three free-agent strikers offered; Brazilian midfielder eyed
Meanwhile, United have been offered the chance to sign three Premier League-proven strikers with 290 goals between them, and United’s wider intentions for the striker position have been revealed.
Elsewhere, 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.
United director of football Jason Wilcox is also reportedly 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.
And finally, United are also reported to be in discussions with the entourage of a £52m-rated Brazilian midfielder, though they will face competition from two Italian giants for the deal.