Manchester United’s pursuit of Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo could indirectly prevent Chelsea from landing a transfer windfall. United are still keen for Mbeumo to be part of the club’s summer rebuild following Matheus Cunha’s earlier move to Old Trafford.
Ruben Amorim’s side submitted their opening bid for Mbeumo in June and also saw an improved offer rejected last month. Brentford have set their asking price at £63millon after the Cameroon international scored 20 league goals and provided eight assists last season. The Bees have identified a possible replacement who could boost Chelsea’s coffers, but United and Brentford have yet to reach an agreement over Mbeumo, delaying any domino effect in the market.
The Athletic has reported that Brentford have made an approach for Ipswich Town star Omari Hutchinson, who joined the Tractor Boys for £22.5m last summer. His former side Chelsea negotiated a 25 per cent sell-on clause, according to football.london, which would see the west London side cash in if the winger does leave Ipswich.
Hutchinson, 21, is said to be among the potential options to replace Mbeumo, though no progress has been made regarding the latter’s move to United. Hutchinson starred for Ipswich in their promotion-winning campaign, making his loan move permanent upon the club’s return to the Premier League last season. He was also part of the England U21 squad that recently celebrated winning the Euros.
It is said that Hutchinson's contract includes a £35m relegation clause, which would see Chelsea receive £8.75m. However, Brentford are claimed to have fallen short of that figure and the relegation clause is set to expire this Tuesday (July 15).
The Ipswich winger has also been linked with Everton, West Ham and Fulham during the transfer window. It remains to be seen whether the expiration of Hutchinson’s relegation clause would impact Ipswich’s valuation.
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Meanwhile, Brentford are determined to stick by their asking price for Mbeumo. The club have already seen former manager Thomas Frank join Tottenham Hotspur and sold their captain Christian Norgaard to Arsenal.
Brentford are unwilling to sell for less than Mbeumo’s current value, likely spurred on by the fees paid for Cunha and Newcastle United’s new signing Anthony Elanga. However, the club are aware of Mbeumo’s stance regarding his future and director of football Phil Giles has explained Brentford’s approach to transfer negotiations.
"There's significant interest in Bryan. I think it's been documented and publicised about, his preference,” Giles told Sky Sports. “I think from what I understand he's also, if needs be, happy to stay at Brentford next year as well.
"Let's see on that. I think our position is that he had an unbelievable season last season, we expected interest in him. If that deal's right, there's a deal to do, if not then he’ll stay. We've spoken to Bryan and his representatives. It's not a given that he's going to depart this summer. There is interest.
"He had a great season last season so it's inevitable there's going to be interest in him. If we get the right offer, there's potentially a deal to be done but there's only so much we can say on that."