Man United are at risk of losing too much time in this summer’s transfer window amid their ongoing pursuit of Brentford star Bryan Mbeumo.
George is a Senior Football Writer for the Manchester Evening News, mostly covering Manchester United. He previously worked for football.london before joining the MEN team in July 2021. As well as covering United, George is a Championship-enthusiast and co-hosts The Championship Chat Podcast (@Champchatpod24), which you can find on all major podcast platforms.
Jarrod Bowen ties in with Manchester United’s recruitment strategy.(Image: Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty Images.)
If Manchester United are serious about taking Bryan Mbeumo to the United States with them next week, they need to get a wriggle on.
More than six weeks after tabling their opening offer for the Brentford attacker, United are still locked in negotiations with the Londoners to try and reach an agreement.
United’s second offer, which was made just over three weeks ago and understood to be in excess of £60million, looked as though it would be enough to extract the Cameroon international from the Gtech Community Stadium.
However, United still find themselves at the negotiating table and the clock is ticking. Ruben Amorim’s squad is in desperate need of fresh blood this summer and the Reds are quickly falling even further behind their Premier League rivals.
It goes without saying United are working under testing circumstances this summer. After failing to qualify for the upcoming Champions League campaign, they will be starved of valuable revenue streams this season, meaning they are having to box clever with their recruitment.
United have already spent £62.5m on Matheus Cunha and they now need to prioritise sales to bring in funds that can be reinvested into the squad. At the same time, they are also having to find the right balance between securing the players Amorim needs and not pay over the odds.
United have rightfully prioritised attacking signings this summer after finishing consecutive Premier League campaigns with a negative goal difference. Cunha got 17 goals across all competitions last term and Mbeumo plundered 20 in the league.
The prospect of adding Mbeumo to the signing of Cunha is exciting. Both players were among the best in the division last season and their records speak for themselves.
However, how long can United, who also want to sign a striker, a midfielder and a goalkeeper this summer, wait for Mbeumo? They are within their rights to continue pursuing their top target, firmly of the belief he will make an impact at Old Trafford, but they are running the risk of wasting too much time.
The pursuit of Bryan Mbeumo is still ongoing.(Image: Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Offside via Getty Images.)
Mbeumo was one of the best players in the Premier League last season and has been improving year-on-year. He is Premier League proven and that is the market United are shopping in this summer.
If United’s discussions with Brentford continue without a breakthrough, they may have to consider alternative options. And considering they are looking at players with Premier League pedigree, they could do far worse than running the rule over West Ham United ace Jarrod Bowen.
Like Mbeumo, Bowen made his first claim to fame in the Championship. After scoring 22 goals for Hull City in 2018/19 and 17 in the first half of the 2019/20 campaign, West Ham swooped for him in January 2020 for a reported fee of £22m.
Five-and-a-half years later, you will struggle to find a Premier League signing that has, pound for pound, been better value for money. Bowen, 28, has scored 74 goals in 238 games for the club.
He has reached double figures for goals in the Premier League in three of the last four seasons, scoring 29 league goals since the start of the 2023/24 campaign.
Like Mbeumo, Bowen is predominantly a right-winger who likes to cut inside and take full advantage of his trustworthy left foot. However, he is adaptable and can play pretty much anywhere across the forward line, including up front.
Jarrod Bowen was on the scoresheet at Old Trafford in May.(Image: Alex Livesey/Getty Images.)
Fresh from scoring 13 goals and racking up eight assists in the Premier League last season, Bowen is hot property this summer. He is West Ham’s star man and they will be reluctant to lose him.
Fortunately for the Hammers, the length of Bowen’s contract at the London Stadium means they have a safety net. The England international signed a long-term contract in the capital in October 2023, keeping him at the club until June 2030.
It means with five years remaining on his deal, West Ham will demand a sizeable fee to consider selling him this summer. Without player sales, which have so far been non-existent, United will not be able to swoop for Bowen should he crop into their thoughts amid the ongoing Mbeumo saga.
But if United can eventually clear their departures lounge, Bowen could be an alternative to consider if Brentford refuse to budge. West Ham, though, could quite easily be just as stubborn.
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