Jason Wilcox has replaced Dan Ashworth as director of footballplaceholder image
Jason Wilcox has replaced Dan Ashworth as director of football | Getty Images
Man Utd have taken a long time to seal the signing of Bryan Mbeumo, but should they have gone for someone else instead?
Manchester United went into the transfer window miles behind the teams who they should be aiming to compete with.
Aspirations of Champions League football can be forgotten if the Old Trafford recruitment team doesn’t pick up the pace with bringing in new faces to help Ruben Amorim’s squad rebuild. Mattheus Cunha is a start but that’s all it is so far and there are a lot of holes that need to be filled.
As time goes by, more and more players are being signed by other clubs with another who United enquired about edging closer to a move to a Premier League rival. One that finished above the Red Devils and who seem intent on pulling even further away.
The reality is, budget isn’t a problem, it is how the money is being spent. United’s Achilles’ heel for almost the last decade. A problem that doesn’t seem to have been entirely fixed given the fee paid for Cunha and how long it has taken to negotiate a deal for Bryan Mbeumo.
It is impossible to rebuild an entire squad in one transfer window which is why priorities should have been made. Spurs realised Mbeumo was going to be too expensive so moved onto Mohammed Kudus, whereas United should have changed tact the moment Brentford moved the goalposts.
David Ornstein, writing in The Athletic on the 17th of June, revealed that United had contacted Ekitike’s club about a potential transfer:
“Manchester United have enquired about the availability of Eintracht Frankfurt forward Hugo Ekitike. As previously reported by The Athletic, Ekitike is already of interest to Chelsea. But United have made contact with Frankfurt in recent weeks to try to understand the player’s level of availability and what a potential transfer might cost.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6428686/2025/06/17/manchester-united-arsenal-transfer-latest-liverpool-real-madrid-barcelona-news/
“The Bundesliga club have so far maintained that Ekitike, who turns 23 this week, will not leave for less than their €100m asking price (£84m), albeit they are willing to be flexible around the structure of a deal.”
How did United walk away from negotiations with Frankfurt who Newcastle have managed to talk down, but have been insistent on staying round the table with Brentford who continue to push the price up for Mbeumo?
Who is the better player Ekitike or Mbeumo?
Using Data MB, not only is Ekitike younger, but he is a better player in the position that United need to strengthen. The No.9 role should produce goals and assists, however, there has been little of either from recent incumbents of the role. The France Under-21 international is as well rounded a striker as there is on the market and still has room for improvement.
Radar image of Hugo Ekitike of Eintracht Frankfurt vs Bryan Mbeumo of Brentford.placeholder image
Radar image of Hugo Ekitike of Eintracht Frankfurt vs Bryan Mbeumo of Brentford. | Data MB.
Mbeumo’s role changed last season and when Ivan Toney was banned at Brentford as Thomas Frank adapted to losing his talisman. As a striker, at the same age, Ekitike gets more touches in the box, is better in the air, wins more duels and gets on the end of more chances.
Amorim currently has a decent selection of players who can play behind and with a central striker, Mbeumo will be a good signing, but he isn’t needed in the way that Ekitike is. The ghosts of recruitment past continue to haunt United and it will only be next summer that a true assessment can be made as to whether or not the right decision was made.
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