Manchester United and Brentford have agreed a fee for the transfer of Bryan Mbeumo, according to reports.
Mbeumo is currently United‘s top target after the £62.5million signing of Matheus Cunha from Wolves.
Ruben Amorim’s side reportedly had an opening bid worth £55m rejected by Brentford, which opened the door for Tottenham Hotspur to make contact with the Bees.
Spurs recently poached head coach Thomas Frank from Brentford after sacking Ange Postecoglou and were confident the Dane’s arrival would convince Mbeumo to follow his former boss.
Some reports have suggested Mbeumo would be open to joining Spurs, but he prefers a move to United — even though they won’t be in Europe next season.
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Amorim wants to sign a centre-forward as well as Mbeumo, and the Cameroonian international’s desire to join United is a significant boost.
There is growing optimism at Old Trafford that a deal will finally get done, with The Guardian (via Sky Sports) reporting that an initial fee has been agreed, and both clubs are now working on add-ons.
It’s claimed that the Red Devils are now ‘close to finalising a deal’ worth over £60m.
The Sky Sports report states:
Manchester United are close to finalising a deal for Bryan Mbeumo worth more than £60m, reports The Guardian.
The initial fee is said to have been agreed with the clubs now discussing add-ons that may take the deal close to Brentford’s £65m valuation.
United had an initial bid worth up to £55m rejected, while Tottenham also held talks with Brentford over signing the 25-year-old.
The BBC, lucky devils, have managed to extract some thoughts on the potential move from Mbeumo’s former coach at Troyes. Perfect fodder to hit the required word count, this.
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“I coached him in his first year as a senior player and he was a really nice boy,” Almeida told BBC Radio Manchester.
“The first point is, the human values of Bryan – coachable, humble, really hungry to learn all the time. After that was potential, because he gave the first steps with us that season and he finished the season with lots of goals and passes for goals also.
“He was not quick only with his feet, with his mind also. Each training session for him was like a final. In that time, he want to to learn, improve and go as far as he could. Of course he didn’t know at the time he could be as far as he is now, but his mindset – it separated him from the others.”
Asked if Mbeumo can handle the pressure of playing for Manchester United, Almeida replied: “I think so. I saw him jump from us at Troyes to Brentford in the Championship and then to the Premier League. He handled it really well.
“I know he is a little shy but, at the same time, he trusts himself. So he knows how strong is he, what capabilities he has, how strong he is as a player. Of course, Manchester United is a different level club, but I am trustful he will do it well.
“If he is going, it is because Ruben wants him. He will fit exactly what Ruben wants as a player. Not only in offensive way but also in defensive way because Ruben demands that from the players – always.”
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