Bryan Mbeumo in action for Brentford.
Manchester United are attempting to sign Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo.
Manchester United know they need to work quickly in the summer transfer window as they strive to rebuild their squad for the 2025/2026 campaign.
In some respects, the lack of Champions League football next season means that Ruben Amorim does not need to go wild with the number of new recruits. They will be battling in considerably less matches than most of their rivals and, therefore, can afford to have a smaller squad to call upon.
That being said, United supporters will be keen to see a new core group of first-team players arrive this summer to improve on what was a desperately bad 2024/2025 season. On the first day of the summer transfer window, United announced the arrival of Matheus Cunha from Wolves for £62.5million.
While they suffered a setback in their pursuit of Liam Delap, focus has now turned to Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo and that deal looks to be much more likely to succeed. The Manchester Evening understands the Cameroon international is keen to move to Old Trafford this summer - despite there being scope for his current manager Thomas Frank to swoop in for him at Tottenham Hotspur.
Brentford are understood to want a fee in the similar region to that which United paid for Cunha and that's not a million miles away from the £55million offer that the Reds proposed in their opening approach. So, if, as expected, Mbeumo becomes a United player, who should United target next?
Personally, the position is obvious - even if the individual is less clear. United simply must recruit a centre-forward ahead of the new season.
In-demand Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres. (Image: David Ramos/UEFA via Getty Images)
There is no world where United improve significantly in 2025/2026 without adding a striker to their ranks. Exactly who that centre-forward should be is hard to decide.
Sporting SP star Viktor Gyokeres is the obvious first choice considering his pre-existing relationship with Amorim. However, with the Swede's exit complicated after revelations surrounding the "gentleman's agreement" between the Lisbon club and the striker himself, United may need to look elsewhere.
Victor Osimhen would be a less complicated option for United with Napoli determined to sell this summer and to avoid what happened last year. The asking price is thought to be £63million which, like a deal for Gyokeres, would mean that sales would have to be sanctioned before green lighting the transfer.
Whether it be Gyokeres or Osimhen, the priority for United should be clear this summer and that is to add a new centre-forward to the squad. Failure to do so quickly could - in turn - result in United having to scrape the bottom of the barrel by late-August.
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