Who was United’s last buy from Brentford?

Manchester United have confirmed the signing of Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford.

The Cameroon international is set to make his Reds debut in the Premier League Summer Series (live on MUTV for non-US residents) during Tour 2025 presented by Snapdragon, which gets under way this week.

It is not a path well traversed over the years, from the Bees to Old Trafford, but Christian Eriksen did join after representing the south-west Londoners, in 2022.

However, the Denmark midfielder was actually a free agent at the time, as his contract had expired.

We believe the last time United signed a senior player by paying a fee to Brentford was back in 1973.

Stewart Houston was snapped up for over £50,000, with the reported sum a record sale for the Bees, after joining them from fellow capital club Chelsea.

A reliable, consistent defender, Houston arrived at a time when United were attempting to fend off relegation from the top flight.

“It’s a very good move for me,” he said, after the deal was confirmed. “When I signed, manager Tommy Docherty told me he wanted a left-footed player for the back four and I’m quite happy to play at left-back.

“I feel that the position gives me a greater chance of using my football skills than in the centre of defence, where I played for Brentford. Strangely enough, while there are hardly any natural left-footed players at United, there were about seven at Brentford.

“I hope I can give United more balance.”

While he could not help prevent the Reds from going down in 1974, the Scotsman was part of the side that won the Second Division title to bounce straight back up, appearing in 40 league games that term.

The full-back started the 1976 FA Cup final against Southampton and played 250 times in total for United, scoring 16 goals, before departing for Sheffield United in 1980.

Following a switch to Colchester United, he moved into coaching and was prominent as George Graham’s number two at Arsenal. Houston twice took caretaker charge of the Gunners and managed Queens Park Rangers in 1996/97.

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