Bryan Mbeumo: 'Egg on their faces'

Manchester United have been warned they face becoming a laughing stock if they fail to secure the signing of Bryan Mbeumo this summer amid fears Brentford are ready to pull the plug on talks – and with Rio Ferdinand suggesting INEOS could be left ruing the day they allowed the talks to become public knowledge.

The Red Devils are desperately seeking to find upgrades for their attack after scoring a meagre 44 goals in 38 Premier League games last season – a tally worse than just four other sides and an alarming 42 behind champions Liverpool. And with Ruben Amorim believing adding additional firepower and creativity is the perfect medicine to revive their fortunes, Manchester United have been on a mission to bring in more than one new face in attack.

While negotiations to bring in Matheus Cunha proved relatively plain sailing, United have since struggled to get a deal for Mbeumo over the line, with talks now about to enter a sixth week since it became public knowledge that the Brentford star had chosen Old Trafford as his next destination.

With two offers falling flat – the second one worth £62.5m (£55m up front and £7.5m in add-ons) – United are now pondering a third and final offer to try and twist Brentford’s arm.

However, with the Bees determined to hang on for their estimated £65m valuation, and claiming a bigger portion of the fee up front, they now face a serious new threat to their hopes with Tottenham Hotspur also instigating a move to sign Mbeumo’s teammate, Yoane Wissa.

It’s since been declared that Brentford will only sell one or the other, not both, leaving United in a race against time and now in serious danger of missing out altogether.

Now, a concerned Ferdinand claims all associated with United could end up looking like serious mugs if they fail to land the 96-goal star.

“[Mbeumo] has told Tottenham, he’s told Brentford that he only wants to join Manchester United,” Ferdinand began on his Rio Presents YouTube channel.

“So Man Utd and Brentford have to come together and find a way of… well, Man Utd have to find a way of meeting Brentford’s valuation. I think the proposal is £55m with £7.5m add-ons. That doesn’t seem to be enough, maybe, for Brentford, but I think Man Utd have to get this done. I think it’s been in the news for far too long to get to a situation where you get to the end of the window and it doesn’t happen.

“I think that would be a custard, egg on your face situation for Man United, unless they go and get someone else, another striker. Who have they got waiting in the wings as an alternative?”

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A worried Ferdinand continued: “We haven’t heard, really, any other names that it seems to be getting close with. So, I’ll be surprised if this deal doesn’t go through, because Man Utd have been adamant.

“It’s gone public, they’ve allowed that to happen, and they’re in a position now where they’ve got to make a move to kind of get this over the line.”

Despite the delay in getting a deal over the line, Ferdinand insists he fully understands why United are so desperate to add the 25-year-old to their ranks.

“He fits the bill for me physically. He’s dynamic, scores goals in the Premier League, knows the Premier League. Watch this space.”

Amid suggestions the Bees will continue to resist all United throw at them unless they meet their exact valuation, their director of football Phil Giles recently raised the possibility of Mbeumo remaining at the Gtech Stadium next season.

“There is significant interest in Bryan. His current preference has been well publicised. He had an unbelievable season, and we expected interest in him. From what I understand, he is also, if needs be, happy to stay at Brentford next year as well.

“We’ve spoken to Bryan and his representatives. It’s not a given that he’s going to depart this summer. If we get the right offer, there is the potential for a deal to be done, but there is only so much we can say now on that.”

Ferdinand’s demands over Mbeumo are not the first time this week their former star has urged INEOS to intervene over the club’s transfer dealings, have also explained why they must act quickly in order to prevent the world-class Victor Osimhen slipping through their grasp.

“I’m like a broken record. If anyone listens to my podcast, I’ve said Osimhen for a while now,” Ferdinand said.

“He’s a centre-forward, he’s experienced, he knows how to score goals at the top level. I’ve seen today that Galatasaray have put a £50m bid in.

“I mean, £50m to get a top-class striker, one of the top strikers in the world, is absolute peanuts in today’s market. I’ll be disappointed if he goes to Galatasaray for that type of money when Man United are crying out for a No. 9.”

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