Brentford have a secret weapon as they engage in negotiations with Manchester United for Bryan Mbeumo, with the player wanting to sign for Rúben Amorim.
Rúben Amorim’s 2025 summer rebuild at Manchester United is off to a flying start, with the club having confirmed an agreement to sign Matheus Cunha from Wolverhampton Wanderers for £62.5 million on the opening day of the window.
The second day of the window brought further good news, with transfer guru David Ornstein reporting that Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo also wants to join the club, despite interest from Newcastle, Arsenal, and Tottenham Hotspur.
This was then followed up by further confirmation that club captain Bruno Fernandes wants to remain at Old Trafford this summer despite a mega contract offer from Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal.
With the two prospective transfers coming into place and Fernandes committing his future to United, the club will have to focus on sales in order to further raise funds for more signings.
Brentford could complicate Mbeumo talks
Despite Mbeumo giving United his blessing to sign for the club this summer, Amorim’s side has yet to enter into negotiations with his current club.
Mbeumo’s current contract with Premier League side Brentford is set to expire next summer, but according to talkSPORT, the West London outfit have the option to extend this by a further season, which they could well trigger to protect his value.
Although initial reports had indicated that Brentford would allow Mbeumo to leave for a bid of around £50 million, following United’s acquisition of Cunha, talkSPORT has revealed Mbeumo’s club feel the Cameroon international’s value is equal to the Brazilian’s, and are now demanding at least £60 million.
Should Brentford choose to activate the one-year extension offer in Mbeumo’s contract, this could further complicate negotiations as United would have a less firm upper hand, despite the player’s clear motive to secure his move to Old Trafford this summer.
United will want Mbeumo to sign in pre-season
Although Brentford will continue to posture that they would be willing to hold their ground to secure a fee in excess of £60 million, it would be unwise for Thomas Frank’s side to attempt to keep Mbeumo at the club by triggering his one-year extension.
Although Brentford have a lot of profit and sustainability headroom, and are therefore not under pressure to sell, if they become too stubborn in negotiations with United, they may lose out on gaining any significant fee for their star player, as United want as many new signings as possible through the door before pre-season.
If an agreement cannot be reached with Brentford in the coming weeks, there is every chance that United could walk away from the negotiating table. As time passes, Mbeumo will likely start applying pressure on his current club to seal a move to United.
As Amorim has previously stated, the club will only pursue and secure transfers of players who want to join United for the long-term project they are building rather than just to play Champions League football.
Mbeumo clearly falls into this category, and Brentford’s stance may weaken in the coming weeks if they do not work with United to reach a suitable compromise.
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