Mbeumo in Man Utd squad for USA trippublished at 14:05 British Summer Time
14:05 BST
Simon Stone
BBC Sport chief football news reporter in Chicago
Bryan Mbeumo will travel to Chicago with his new Manchester United team-mates later today, with club officials quietly happy at getting another significant deal over the line.
Although Mbeumo cost £65m, plus potentially another £6m, less than Brentford’s desired £70m + £7m but more than United’s initial £45m offer, United feel his arrival, coupled with that of Matheus Cunha from Wolves, proves they retain significant appeal despite finishing last season in 15th in the Premier League, their worst performance since the 1973-74 relegation season.
In this instance, United felt not only were Tottenham and
Newcastle keen but that Arsenal were interested too and suspected Chelsea were also
flexing their muscle by the end.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of how they went about it, United
got their man eventually. Considering they finished 15th last season
and all the other clubs they felt they were battling with can offer Champions League
football in the coming months, that does indeed represent something of a coup
for technical director Jason Wilcox and his negotiating team.
There are still deals to be done of course before the window
closes on 1 September, not least around the four players who continue to be
exiled now Marcus Rashford’s move to Barcelona has all but been confirmed.
However, for now, United can be glad at delivering Ruben
Amorim’s two main summer targets, reinforcing their belief the club remains an attractive
proposition.