DEAL SIGNED: £122million striker has finally signed Manchester United’s deal after completing his medical this morning
Manchester United are inching closer to confirming their second senior signing of the summer with Bryan Mbeumo after signing Matheus Cunha.
The interest, which developed alongside Matheus Cunha, grew quickly once the deal for Cunha was wrapped up but it wasn’t as straightforward.
Unlike Cunha, who had a release clause, much work was to be done on a deal for Bryan Mbeumo, and that too against tough negotiators like Brentford.
It seems that United’s second bid for Mbeumo has become the deadlock-breaker, as United in Focus can exclusively reveal the latest on the deal.
Bryan Mbeumo’s Man Utd transfer latest
When the time between the first rejected bid and the second one stretched, the hope was that the two clubs were in talks throughout.
Therefore, the second bid was always likely to be accepted, even if it needed some minor changes to its structure.
It was clear that United would walk away if the second bid wasn’t accepted because they had accepted Brentford’s demands of Cunha-money and a higher fee up front.
Transfer insider, Graeme Bailey, who had some interesting revelations about the Mbeumo deal, particularly how it is looked at in the context of Cunha’s transfer.
He said: “Sources have told United In Focus that a full agreement between Manchester United and Brentford is now getting close. For me, Mbeumo is the first major victory of the Jason Wilcox era, yes, Matheus Cunha was a good deal to get done, but United really have seen off interest to get Mbeumo.
“Let’s not forget, he was Newcastle’s first choice to come in on the right, then Tottenham made a late offer – this is a huge success story for Wilcox and the football team.
“They have had to pay around Cunha money, but the market was set by their deal with Wolves – why wouldn’t Brentford want the same, and United accepted that is the right level, and I don’t think many people would disagree.
“A lot of people have spoken about Cunha being a great deal, but I have had honestly had more people in football tell me they are more impressed with United getting Mbeumo.”
Jason Wilcox can’t let the momentum dissipate
As Bailey points out, Cunha was a release clause, so the true test of Wilcox’s prowess in his new role was dependent upon the deal for Mbeumo.
It is high praise that the transfer is seen as more impressive than one for Cunha, and rightly so, since United had to beat interest from many other clubs to secure his signature.
Not only is it a reminder of United’s pull in the market despite having a bad season, but it also reflects extremely well on Jason Wilcox.
The transfer window at Man Utd was getting a bit stagnant after the early signing of Cunha so this deal for Mbeumo generates a lot of momentum.
With the squad returning for pre-season on July 7, the expectation will be that Mbeumo and Cunha will be there, and that’s the ideal way to kick off pre-season.
Now the challenge is to ride this momentum and start working on the outgoing so further incomings can be financed.
