Man Utd could now pull out of a deal to sign Bryan Mbeumo in order to sign another Premier League star and pressure Brentford to lower their price, according to reports.
The Red Devils are desperate to continue improving their attacking options in the summer transfer window after bringing in Matheus Cunha as their only signing of the summer from Wolves for £62.5m.
Only four Premier League clubs scored fewer goals than Man Utd last season as Ruben Amorim’s side finished in 15th place after an embarrassing campaign.
Their negotiations to sign Mbeumo from Brentford have lasted for weeks as the Red Devils refuse to meet the Bees’ asking price for the Cameroon international.
But transfer expert Fabrizio Romano revealed on Monday that it is still ‘deal on’ over Mbeumo despite the clubs failing to strike an agreement.
Romano wrote on X: ‘Manchester United’s absolute focus remains on Bryan Mbeumo deal with talks set to continue this week.
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‘No agreement with Brentford last week but MUFC keep working on it and Bryan also keeps giving priority to United move. Deal on.’
Man Utd also want to sign a new centre-forward this summer too with Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins and former Everton star Dominic Calvert-Lewin on their list.
But Tottenham club expert John Wenham reckons the time it is taking to agree a fee could see Spurs given a chance of a transfer later in the summer transfer market.
With Mbeumo’s former manager at Brentford, Thomas Frank, replacing Ange Postecoglou as Tottenham boss last month, there was an expectation that Spurs now had a chance of landing the Bees forward.
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It has been clear that Mbeumo’s first choice is Man Utd but Wenham is predicting that Brentford could force the Red Devils to move on to other targets if they don’t lower their price, giving Tottenham a chance later in the summer.
Wenham told Tottenham News: “Manchester United are now looking at [Ollie] Watkins..
“They’re unlikely to sign Watkins and Mbeumo, and there’s also an interesting subplot here. If you remember when Tottenham tried to sign David Raya, Brentford wanted £40million.
“As the window went on, nobody was paying the £40m and they ended up loaning him to Arsenal and he then joined permanently for much less than £40m. I could see that happening with Mbeumo where he becomes available at the end of the window for less.
“Brentford might realise nobody is going to pay the asking price. They want a fee which eclipses what United paid for Matheus Cunha, who I believe is a better player.”