Manchester United have signed Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford, with a base transfer fee of £65 million plus a maximum of £6 million in add-on clauses.
The 25-year-old has signed a five-year contract with United, with a one-year option to extend.
Player Background:
Mbeumo was born in Avalon, a town three hours south of Paris in France. At 14, he joined Troyes, where he spent the next six years – the club now plays in Ligue 2 – making 42 first-team appearances, including 4 in Ligue 1.
Brentford came calling in 2019, and it proved a perfect fit. Under Thomas Frank, Mbeumo contributed 70 goals and 51 assists in 242 games, helping the club win promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs in 2021 and establish themselves in the top flight ever since.
Mbeumo represented France at various youth levels before choosing to play for Cameroon, featuring in the 2022 World Cup.
Technical Characteristics:
He is a player who relishes bursting forward at pace in quick counter-attacks. Mbeumo likes to dribble past defenders, then look for shooting space or deliver passes to teammates.
He is a creator. While he has scored spectacular goals in the past, don’t expect every goal to be so dazzling. Mbeumo has mastered the traditional winger’s cut-in and finish to perfection. He doesn’t get past his marker every time, but when he does, the player who featured in all 38 Premier League games for Brentford last season – scoring 20 goals and providing 8 assists – is likely to create a scoring chance.
Tactical Fit:
United’s new signing Mbeumo is a versatile left-footed forward who can also adeptly use his weaker right foot.
He is highly skilled at carrying the ball forward, combining sprints, sudden stops and deft touches to get past defenders. Coupled with his awareness and creativity in the half-spaces and wide areas, Mbeumo is an excellent fit for the right-sided No. 10 role in Ruben Amorim’s system, and can also play as a central striker when needed.
Mbeumo is extremely efficient. Among the 25 players who scored 10+ goals in the Premier League last season, he ranked 19th with 2.2 shots per 90 minutes. However, he ranked 3rd in both touches per shot (22.7) and shot conversion rate (24%), while his 7.7 goals above expected (20 goals from an xG of 12.3) topped the list.
Injury History:
Mbeumo missed three months from December 2023 to March 2024 due to an ankle issue, undergoing surgery. Beyond that, his availability during his time at Brentford has been consistently high, with no games missed due to injury in the 2024-25 season.
Words from Those Who Know Him:
Thomas Frank once stated that, given Mbeumo’s goalscoring contributions over the past six seasons, he would be irreplaceable. Frank said at a press conference in September 2024: “He’s a top player, and I’m certain he’ll play for a bigger club. If I were at a bigger club, I’d buy him.”
When Mbeumo joined Brentford for a then-club-record £5.4 million, his former teammate Pontus Jansson recalled speaking about him with then-director of football Rasmus Ankersen. Jansson told The Athletic in February: “He said, ‘We’re signing a young player from France, and I’ll be very disappointed if he doesn’t become world-class in a few years.’ He was right.”
Financial Details of the Deal:
United paid a base transfer fee of £65 million for Mbeumo, with potential add-ons of up to £6 million. The Cameroonian forward signed a five-year contract until June 2030, with a one-year option to extend. United will pay the initial £65 million in four installments.
Mbeumo’s arrival marks United’s second signing of over £60 million this summer, following the arrival of Cunha from Wolves in June. Mbeumo is the sixth most expensive signing in United’s history, behind Paul Pogba, Antony, Harry Maguire, Jadon Sancho and Romelu Lukaku.
The sale set a new club record for Brentford, surpassing the £34 million Al Ittihad paid for Ivan Toney a year ago. Brentford have earned over £80 million from player sales this summer, with Mbeumo leaving alongside Mathias Jensen and Mark Flekken.
Impact on Both Clubs’ PSR Calculations:
Assuming a 10% agent commission on the transfer fee plus 4% transfer tax, Mbeumo’s signing will add £14.1 million to United’s amortization cost in the 2025-26 season, followed by £15 million per year until the end of the 2029-30 season.
Although United will pay the transfer fee in four installments, the timing of payments has no material impact on their PSR calculations. The full £65 million will still be amortized over Mbeumo’s five-year contract.
Mbeumo’s salary at United has not been confirmed, but reports last month suggested the forward is expecting a weekly wage of £250,000. Including related employment costs, this equates to an annual expenditure of £15 million. Whatever the exact figure, the cost of signing him is clearly far more than the estimated £74.1 million; the total expenditure for United in signing Mbeumo and paying his salary over the five-year contract will exceed £100 million.
For Brentford, the deal brings substantial profit. Mbeumo was signed from France’s Troyes in August 2019 for just under £6 million on an initial five-year contract. He renewed his contract for four years in January 2022, extending it until the end of June 2026, but his book value has dropped to less than £1 million. We estimate his former club will record a profit of £64.3 million in the 2025-26 financial year.
