The Bryan Mbeumo transfer has played out as Manchester United expected

The Bryan Mbeumo transfer has played out as Manchester United expected

Two significant signings in time for the first pre-season tour fixture would be good going for Manchester United.

One of the best pieces of news Manchester United fans will have come across this transfer window was a Championship club rejecting a bid from a Premier League club.

Brentford’s offer for Omari Hutchinson was another step in the right direction for United in their negotiations for Bryan Mbeumo. Despite the wait, that deal has never appeared in jeopardy.

United start their season against Arsenal in four weeks and the transfer window is open for six more weeks. The only ‘deadline’ was United’s departure for Chicago on Tuesday.

They now expect Brentford to accept their third and probably final offer of £65million rising to £70m. Brentford have held out for a higher fee for Mbeumo than the £62.5m Matheus Cunha, which is somewhat logical. Cunha got 15 Premier League goals last season and Mbeumo got 20. Mbeumo is slightly younger than Cunha and played in the Premier League for twice as long.

The change of manager at Brentford was always bound to cause a hold-up. Brentford also needed time to line up their duck to replace Mbeumo. Hutchinson is a left-footed right winger with a release clause. Ipswich Town rejected Brentford’s package as it was not an up-front payment.

And so, when push comes to shove, United seem likely to get Mbeumo in time for him to be in the squad against West Ham United in New Jersey next Saturday. Mbeumo will have missed out on a full week’s worth of pre-season training. Hardly an issue for a player who has spent four successive seasons in the Premier League.

There has been a shift from United. A target they initially valued at £50m-odd could end up costing them £70m. Sources say Brentford refused to budge on an overall £70m fee and United eventually relented.

After going the entirety of last summer without breaking the £60m barrier for any of the five signings, United are about to do so with both incomings this summer. Club figures stressed as recently as Wednesday that Mbeumo’s fee had to be “sensible”.

His cost will doubtless drive the price up of that elusive new No.9, unless there is a satisfactory option with a release clause. Some form of a compromise feels inevitable there, whether it is a short-term fix or United settling with their existing options. All of the evidence suggests Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee are not good enough.

At least Cunha and Mbeumo have been plying their trade on these shores. There is a modicum of progress in that United have settled on such fees for players with Premier League experience, rather than for a brash Brazilian in the Netherlands or a callow and underwhelming striker in Italy.

It is needs must, too. United recorded a minus goal difference in 2023-24. Last season, it was ten times worse. Cunha and Mbeumo were towards the top of the Premier League goalscoring charts in 2024-25.

Should they contribute 35 league goals between them for United, nobody will mention their fees. Expectations should be reined in, though. Wolves finished 14th and 16th in Cunha’s two campaigns at Molineux. Mbeumo has been playing at a stadium with a capacity of 17,250. The Sir Alex Ferguson Stand alone is much bigger than that.

The pair are in for a culture shock though United are confident the players have the wherewithal to cope with the great expectations and the greater scrutiny. Cunha was always destined for another big move and Mbeumo is one of the most affable and attentive characters in the league.

Mbeumo had a more than respectable first season in the Premier League as Brentford finished 13th yet the winger was so self-critical he embarked on an intensive training programme that entailed posture training. Those close to him are adamant that it marked the turning point in his career.

United should not overburden Mbeumo. They cannot entertain the notion of playing him up front when everyone knows they want an out-and-out striker. Cunha, Amad and Bruno Fernandes are the playmakers who can make United play. Mbeumo has to go into the starting XI on the wing.

The team would be a starting striker shy of completion for the forthcoming season. Centre back is United’s strongest area in their squad, Manuel Ugarte has to start repaying the club’s investment and is set to have Fernandes as his partner. A more established left winger is bound to be a priority next year but Patrick Dorgu is one of United’s most recent investments, albeit at a price (£25m) with little risk.

A new goalkeeper could be needed this time next year, too, unless Andre Onana rediscovers the form of his Champions League semi-final and final campaigns with Ajax and Inter Milan. That would be more good news for United.