Manchester United face Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday lunchtimeplaceholder image
Manchester United face Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday lunchtime | Getty Images
Man Utd finally completed a deal to sign Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford in the summer transfer window.
United were made to wait for the signing of the Cameroon international after his former club attempted to incite a bidding war between Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle and United for his signature. Their plans took a turn when Mbeumo made it clear he only wanted to move to Old Trafford in the summer, and United held firm to their transfer stance, insisting they would not overpay for the player.
A resolution was eventually reached when United agreed to sign Mbeumo for an initial fee of £65 million for the versatile forward, with a further £6m in potential add-ons. The fee was deemed acceptable by both parties, though it took a little longer than United had envisaged for the deal to be completed.
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When asked if he had been frustrated by the prolonged pursuit of Mbeumo, Amorim told reporters at his pre-match press conference: "Yeah, but he went to pre-season in America. That was really good for us to bond with him in America. He had time to start slowing with 45 minutes. He had time to prepare for the season again. I knew the player. I watched the player so many times. I watched him live against us last year. It was not a good day, a good day for us if I'm correct."
Asked if his performance in the 4-3 victory for Brentford back in May had any influence on the desire to sign him, Amorim played down that suggestion but revealed he learned a lot from watching Mbeumo in the flesh. He added: "It was not that performance, but it helped me to understand that he's a very good player, not just with the ball, but without the ball.
"When you see that live is completely different when you see a guy doing that, with all due respect, it's not because it’s Manchester United, he was in Brentford. He was sometimes defending as a right back, so that was really important to have that feeling live, and if I'm the manager or the owner of Brentford, I will do the same to keep the best players and try to sell the best players for big amounts. so I completely understand that situation."
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