A transfer from to Old Trafford from Brentford may seem full of glitz and glamour, but that would not be the reality for the Cameroon forward
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By the time the 2025-26 Premier League season starts, Bryan Mbeumo will almost certainly be playing his football for a new club. The versatile forward is widely expected to leave Brentford this summer and is one of the top names to watch out for in the summer transfer window.
It has been reported that Mbeumo would favour a move to Manchester United, even though teams who finished much higher than the Red Devils in the table last season are also looking to acquire him. For a couple of weeks, it seemed a formality he would head to Old Trafford, but a spanner has been thrown in the works.
Tottenham's appointment of Bees boss Thomas Frank has coincided with them stepping up their own interest in Mbeumo, and there is hope in north London that the player could change his mind and prefer to join them instead. It would prove a remarkable piece of opportunism from Spurs, and it's actually a plan Mbeumo himself should hear out.
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Part of the reason why teams such as Brentford, Brighton and Bournemouth have thrived in the Premier League is because they are totally aware of their place in the pecking order. If they sign a young player with potential, they won't hold them to ransom if a more prestigious club comes calling. This summer alone, the Cherries have already sold a starlet in Dean Huijsen to Real Madrid, while Milos Kerkez will head to Liverpool and Illya Zabarnyi is in talks with Paris Saint-Germain.
The Bees are always willing to do business on their terms, though have rarely been prohibitive when setting an asking price for their most prized assets. Ollie Watkins' £30 million move to Aston Villa in 2020 was a club-record for both sides at the time, even if it seems like a bargain nowadays. David Raya cost Arsenal £30m all in and Ivan Toney close to £40m one year later when both only had 12 months remaining on their contracts. Mbeumo, with two years left to run on his deal, is fairly priced at £60m off the back of a season where only Mohamed Salah, Alexander Isak and Erling Haaland outscored him in the Premier League. That's a steal in the 2025 market.
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The left-footed right winger is a position that can unlock attacks. That ability to open the game up coming inside from that flank and provide symmetry with a left winger, of whom there are plenty of in world football, has become crucial.
It's the kind of balance that was missing from Real Madrid last season, leading them to the signing of Argentine youngster Franco Mastantuono with the promise of immediate minutes. It's why Chelsea are hoarding plenty of those profiles, with Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke, Pedro Neto and Estevao Willian all on the Blues' books. In this case, it's why Arsenal wanted Mbeumo as versatile cover for Bukayo Saka, and why Newcastle saw him as the perfect third prong of their attack next to Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon.
Tottenham do not have a player of Mbeumo's ilk on their books, with the closest resembling him, Dejan Kulusevski, now seemingly a central midfielder full time. United, on the other hand, do in the form of Amad Diallo, who was by far and away their best performer alongside Bruno Fernandes until an injury in February kept him out for three months. Occasionally, Amad has started at right wing-back in Ruben Amorim's 3-4-3, but playing both the Ivorian and Mbeumo in the same team would make the Red Devils incredibly narrow and predictable. The 25-year-old ought then to be seeking assurances over United's plan.
Getty Images SportFrank knows him best
Heading to Tottenham would be the lowest-risk move possible for Mbeumo. The starting XI is in need of a multifaceted attacker like him, and the man in the dugout knows him better than any other coach in the world.
Frank was involved in the recruitment process that led to Mbeumo signing for Brentford from Ligue 2 side Troyes back in 2019, a time where the Bees relied quite heavily on scouting in France and made the most of easy connections to the country from London. Having just lost 25-goal Neal Maupay to Brighton for £20m and with Watkins experimented with as their new striker, a 20-year-old Mbeumo had to hit the ground running. He certainly did, bagging 15 in his first Championship season.
It took a couple of seasons for Mbeumo to raise his game at Premier League level upon promotion in 2021, though part of that was down to a lack of luck, hitting the woodwork a league-leading seven times during his first season in the top flight while only scoring four times. When Brentford turned into European contenders the following campaign, that's when the goals started to flow a little easier, improving his tally to nine, which he also ended 2023-24 with despite playing 13 fewer games. The path to his 20-goal 2024-25 season was more obvious to those watching more closely, not least of all Frank.
AFPCultural fit
Through the history of football, you'll find players who are at the centre of a team and a squad for their intangibles. You'll hear buzzwords like 'culture' and 'ethic' and may roll your eyes, but it's not a coincidence that even the best of managers lean on those figures.
Frank repeatedly stressed that his Brentford implemented a 'no d*ckheads' policy, claiming that it would have been to the detriment of the dressing room. His Spurs predecessor, Ange Postecoglou, wasn't quite as profane about such an approach, but it existed within the club's walls all the same thanks to him.
Mbeumo wasn't merely not a 'd*ckhead', but also a shining example. Coming from someone who covered Brentford extensively during their first few years in the Premier League, there were countless times where Frank championed the Cameroonian as their hardest worker, as someone who didn't get anywhere near enough credit for his selflessness and silent leadership.
Now, this actually sounds like the sort of character that United should be biting the proverbial hand off to come into their own dressing room, but it's at Spurs where the transition would be more seamless and with less adversity.
