€55m market value
©TM/IMAGO
It was a slightly disappointing end to the season for Brentford, as they missed out on European football, but it was still an overall successful campaign as the Bees recorded their best ever Premier League finish (10th) and best ever points total (56). Once again Bryan Mbeumo was a constant threat for the west London club and finished the season on a very impressive 20 Premier League goals. Only Mohamed Salah (28), Alexander Isak (23), and Erling Haaland (21) scored more goals than Brentford’s Cameroonian winger. But the Bees really needed European football to have any hopes of hanging on to the 25-year-old, and it would now appear he has chosen his next club.
Mbeumo currently boasts a market value of €55 million, and has been linked with a summer move to a number of top Premier League clubs, including Liverpool, Arsenal, Newcastle and Manchester United. However, according to reports from The Athletic, Mbeumo has decided he wants to join Man United, and the Old Trafford club are set to open talks with Brentford as they pursue an agreement to sign the forward this summer. He has a year left on his contract at the Gtech Community Stadium and it includes an option for Brentford to extend by 12 months. If completed, it will be some coup for Ruben Amorim’s team given the vast interest in the player.
Why Bryan Mbeumo is one of the Premier League’s most sought-after wingers
Mbeumo arrived from French side Troyes in 2019 for a fee of €6.5m, which was the club’s second most expensive transfer fee at the time, only behind Ollie Watkins (signed for €7.22m from Exeter in 2017). He had got promoted with Troyes, scoring 11 goals in 37 games in Ligue 2, but had played just four Ligue 1 matches when Brentford signed him as a 19 year old. Mbeumo adapted to English football quickly, scoring 23 goals and providing 19 assists in two seasons in the Championship. However, his performances were usually overshadowed by out-an-out star strikers like Watkins and Ivan Toney (more on this later).
When a team is promoted to the Premier League, there are always question marks over whether players can adjust to the rise in level, such is the gulf in quality between the English top-flight and the Championship. Nevertheless, Mbeumo has proved he is right at home in the Premier League. The Cameroonian has scored 42 goals and provided 30 assists in 136 games in the division, and his numbers have been steadily on the up ever since he made his debut in the league in a famous 2-0 win vs Arsenal in August 2021.
Last season, Mbeumo started the campaign in top form. He scored seven goals and provided three assists in the first 15 games, before an ankle injury disrupted his campaign. As illustrated in the graphic above, the only wingers with a better goals per game ratio than Mbeumo’s 0.46gpg since the start of last season are Mohamed Salah (0.67gpg), Cole Palmer (0.52pgp), and Michael Olise (0.53gpg). There’s been a consistent theme around his form in the Premier League, which has centred around Mbeumo being the main man. With Toney suspended for the first half of last campaign, Mbeumo flourished; that has continued this season with the 25-year-old enjoying a superb season.
How Bryan Mbeumo is flourishing without Ivan Toney
Toney became one of the most in-demand strikers in Europe when he scored 22 goals for Brentford in the 2022/23 season. He was the without doubt the Bees’ most talked about asset. However, a ban for breaching betting rules in May 2023 saw him miss eight months of football. Nevertheless, last summer he finally got his move, but not the one people perhaps had expected; Saudi Pro League team Al-Ahli paid €42m to bring in the English striker on deadline day. When Toney was in the team, a lot of Brentford’s play, understandably so, was centred around him, but without the 6″1″ striker as the focal point, Mbeumo has stepped up his game.
As showcased in the graphic above, Mbeumo’s record in the Premier League without Toney is significantly better than when the pair have both been in the Brentford team. In 69 games alongside Toney, Mbeumo scored just eight goals and provided only nine assists, equating to a ratio of 0.12 goals per game, and 0.13 assists per game. In the 64 games Mbeumo has played without Toney in the side, he has scored 32 goals and provided 17 assists, equating to a notably better rate of 0.50 goals per game and 0.27 assists per game. It does appear Mbeumo thrives when he is the main man in attack – something that could potentially put off some big club suitors; he won’t walk into the Liverpool or Arsenal dressing room and obtain that role.
Where will Bryan Mbeumo fit in at Man United?
Mbeumo is a player with a deadly left-foot, who thrives best when coming in off the right-wing. This is perhaps what could have stopped a summer move to Arsenal, with Bukayo Saka holding that spot firmly for the Gunners. So it would seem most obvious that Mbeumo would line up as the ‘right no.10’ in Amorim’s front three set-up. This would also have a knock on effect on youngster Amad Diallo, who has been one of the few bright sparks in the Red Devils season. The Ivorian will likely shuffle back to the right-wing-back spot. United could have a very new-look attack next season, with Matheus Cunha already signed and expected to play in the ‘left no.10’ position, and reports suggesting that the club are still in the hunt for a new striker. It’s all change at Old Trafford, and in a season full of negatives, beating other top clubs to the signing of Mbeumo is a real positive sign.
