Manchester United are the current front-runners for Brentford’s prolific forward, Bryan Mbeumo despite higher wage offers from other clubs.
Manchester United are currently winning the race to sign Brentford’s forward Bryan Mbeumo. The Cameroonian international impressed last season after registering 20 goals and seven assists.
Ruben Amorim is looking for forwards who can play in one of his two attacking midfield positions, and Mbeumo is a perfect candidate due to his ability to play centrally or drift out wide when needed.
The club looks likely to part ways with a number of forwards this summer, with Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Alejandro Garnacho and Antony all on the transfer list.
United have already signed Wolves talisman Matheus Cunha to start filling the gap left by these impending departures but another similar profile player, like Mbeumo, will still be needed.
Mbeumo’s current contract at Brentford has him earning £50,000 a week and while he will be looking to improve upon this with his next club, it will not be an increase to the extent that some outlets have reported.
Mbeumo: Newcastle ‘priced out’ and Tottenham rejected
Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur have both also been linked to a move for the Brentford star. Thankfully for United, Mbeumo made his desire to join them very clear early on.
Eddie Howe’s side were the first to move away from Mbeumo and Newcastle based news sites repoerted that his wage demands would be “north of £200,000-a-week” with some reports stating figures as high as £250,000-a-week.
However, these reports could be argued as Newcastle saving face considering reliable reports like ones from David Ornstein explained how Mbeumo indicated that he preferred a move to Old Trafford before any such wage reports emerged.
More recent reports have also clarified that Mbeumo’s wages could be as low as £150,000 a week for his first season at Old Trafford, £5.2 million a year less than some of the Newcastle reports.
Even more significant for this topic, Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News has reported that Spurs have been “prepared to offer a higher salary” than the Reds to Mbeumo. However, despite this, the reporter explained that Mbeumo “only wants to join United”.
United’s strong pull is not just wages
Amorim has repeatedly made it clear that he only wants to sign players that want to play for Manchester United, not ones who want to play in a specific tournament or for the luxurious wages.
With the club’s failure to qualify for the Champions League, it means that the players signed this summer, like Cunha and potentially Mbeumo, will be here for the project and not the benefits of Europe.
While it’s true United will greatly improve Mbeumo’s current wages, it looks like he could have got an even greater pay rise at Spurs and also the chance to play Champions League football.
This means there must be something about the United project that appeals to Mbeumo, and it shows that United has a pull beyond the ability to spend money. It also makes it seem likely that wage demands were not the reason that Newcastle ‘pulled out’ of a potential deal.
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Mbeumo and Cunha were two of the most impressive players in the Premier League last season and the fact that they both favour moves to Old Trafford despite these factors completely debunks the notion that United’s only pull is the wages they offer.
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