Manchester United have agreed a deal worth £71million to sign Bryan Mbuemo from Brentford.
The Cameroonian forward has long been a target for Ruben Amorim, as the United boss looks to bolster his attacking ranks.
United have been looking to secure a deal for the Brentford forward throughout the summer but negotiations appeared to have stalled in recent weeks.
But a £71m deal, made up of an initial £65m payment, with four further instalments as well as a maximum of £6m in bonuses, has finally been reached.
The Red Devils’ first bid was a £55m package which the Bees quickly rejected at the beginning of June.
They then had a second bid of £62.5m, the same figure they paid Wolves for Matheus Cunha – rejected by their Premier League rivals almost three weeks ago.
Manchester United have agreed a deal worth £71million to sign Bryan Mbuemo from Brentford
The Cameroonian forward scored 20 goals for Brentford as they finished in tenth last season
Scoring has proved difficult for United and Amorim has been keen to boost their attacking ranks
United did not want to be dragged into repeated bids but had to table multiple as they looked to stave off Spurs from landing their target.
The 25-year-old is United’s third summer signing after they also completed a deal for teenage full-back Diego Leon from Paraguayan outfit Cerro Porteno.
Mbeumo, who scored 20 Premier League goals last season, had also accrued interest from Arsenal, Newcastle United, and Tottenham, who are now managed by former Brentford boss Thomas Frank.
Finding the back of the net proved to be one of the biggest problems for United last season and that is one of the reasons why Mbeumo is seen as such a priority signing by director of football Jason Wilcox and the rest of the footballing hierarchy.
The Red Devils scored just 44 goals in the Premier League which was the second lowest of any non-relegated side – a record low since the division was rebranded back in 1992.
The former France interational joined Brentford for £5.8m in 2019 and he has gone on to score 70 goals in 242 games, including 42 in 136 Premier League matches, flourishing into one of the deadliest forwards in the country.
Having come through French side Troyes academy, he helped secure Brentford’s first ever Premier League promotion in 2021.
This has all come under the stewardship of Frank, who was unveiled as Tottenham’s new head coach – following the sacking of Ange Postecoglou – last month, having spent nine years at the Bees, seven of which came as manager.
United’s players are due to report back to Carrington from week commencing July 7 as Amorim begins work on turning this underperforming squad around.
Earlier this week, meanwhile, Brentford had shared a video of their players returning to training, with Mbeumo present.
More to follow
