Manchester United have finally completed the signing of Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford in a £71million deal, with the Cameroon star signing a long-term deal on £200k-a-week at Old Trafford – but the Red Devils are furious with his former club
At last, Manchester United finally have their man. Bryan Mbeumo is through the door, signed and will join his new team-mates on their pre-season US tour.
The club’s new No.19 could potentially even make his debut this weekend against West Ham United. After 20 goals in the Premier League last season, Mbeumo joins United for a potential £71million giving Ruben Amorim the kind of direct goalscorer he craves to operate alongside another new signing, Matheus Cunha, as the twin No.10s in his favoured 3-4-2-1 formation.
For the United hierarchy, it has been a long, arduous transfer saga. It’s taken eight weeks for United to finally get the deal over the line – and they have been left furious with Brentford for what have been described as attempts to ‘sabotage’ Mbeumo’s dream move.
Ever since first learning of United’s interest, Mbeumo’s heart has been set on a move to Old Trafford. But United are furious at the Bees’ attempts to sell him elsewhere and scupper the deal.
United believe Brentford have been putting pressure on Mbeumo to go elsewhere. They wanted him to go to Newcastle or Tottenham. Arsenal were also interested and Chelsea made a late move. The Bees are also accused of trying to put pressure on Mbeumo to reduce his wage demands – to increase the size of the fee they would receive – after learning he had agreed a £200k-a-week deal with United.
READ MORE: Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim gets his way with Bryan Mbeumo signing before key deadlineREAD MORE: Man Utd to take £200m hit as Ruben Amorim sends brutal message to out-of-favour stars
New Spurs boss Thomas Frank was very keen to reunite with Mbeumo in north London. And Brentford preferred to send him there than to Manchester.
For their part, they felt United had agreed a high wage with Mbeumo initially to take rivals out of the running. Then they came in with what Brentford perceived to be a ridiculously low transfer fee as a starting point to negotiations: £45m plus £10m in add-ons.
Brentford knew they would get more from Spurs but the player insisted he only wanted to join United. Thus, Brentford insisted on getting more than the £62.5m United paid Wolves for Cunha and highlighted the fees being spent on similar players this summer.
Indeed, sources involved in the deal have told Mirror Football that Brentford wanted a fee of £70m plus £7m in add-ons for Mbeumo, but United managed to negotiate down that final figure, with the £6m add-ons relating to a mix of team and individual performances.
“As soon as I knew there was a chance to join Manchester United, I had to take the opportunity to sign for the club of my dreams – the team whose shirt I wore growing up,” admits Mbeumo.
“My mentality is to always be better than I was yesterday. I know that I have the spirit and character to reach another level here, learning from Ruben Amorim and playing alongside world-class players.
“Everybody told me about the environment that is being created here and how exciting the plans are for the future. This is a massive club, with an incredible stadium and amazing fans, we are all really determined to challenge for the biggest trophies.”
In the end, his desire never wavered. And that’s why he is now a Manchester United player.
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