Manchester United will not be playing European football in the 2025/26 campaign after they lost to Tottenham Hotspur in the final of the Europa League earlier this month.
Their only chance to secure Champions League football for next season was to beat Spurs in Bilbao, due to their lowly position in the Premier League, and they failed to do so.
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim arrives before the match
Whilst you could spin that into a positive, as United will not have a busy schedule with loads of European matches to deal with, it could affect the club's business in the summer transfer window.
Manchester United reportedly held face-to-face talks with Ipswich Town centre-forward Liam Delap earlier this month, but he is now set to sign for Chelsea.
Ipswich Town's Liam Delap reacts
Fabrizio Romano revealed that Enzo Maresca's side are on the verge of signing the England U21 international for a fee of £30m, thanks to a relegation clause in his contract with the Tractor Boys.
The Italian journalist added that Champions League football was a key part of his decision to join the Blues, which suggests that United losing in the Europa League final played a role in their failure to land Delap.
Why missing out on Liam Delap is a blow for Man Utd
Manchester United missing out on a deal to sign the Ipswich Town centre-forward ahead of Chelsea is a blow because he could have been an interesting addition to Ruben Amorim's squad in the summer transfer window.
The former Manchester City striker joined the Tractor Boys last year and enjoyed an impressive debut season in the Premier League, despite his team's relegation back down to the Championship.
Delap scored 12 goals in 32 starts for Ipswich in the top-flight, whilst Bruno Fernandes ended the year as Manchester United's top scorer in the division with just eight strikes.
The 22-year-old marksman would have arrived at Old Trafford as an upgrade on Amorim's current first-choice number nine, Rasmus Hojlund, based on their respective performances in the Premier League this term.
24/25 Premier League Liam Delap Rasmus Hojlund
Appearances 37 32
xG 9.34 5.24
Goals 12 4
Conversion rate 18% 13%
Big chances created 3 4
Assists 2 0
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, Delap had a far more impressive season as a goalscorer for his side, accumulating more xG and far more goals despite playing in a worse side, as Ipswich were relegated from the league.
These statistics suggest that he would have improved United's team by coming in to offer a greater goal threat at the top end of the pitch in comparison to Hojlund, which is why missing out on him is a blow.
Liam-Delap
A failure to land Champions League football has put an end to their pursuit of Delap, unfortunately, but the Red Devils are now reportedly looking at a forward who could be even better than the Ipswich star.
Man Utd eyeing deal for Premier League forward
According to GIVEMESPORT, Manchester United are ready to pursue a deal to sign Brentford attacker Bryan Mbeumo in the upcoming summer transfer window.
The report claims that they are preparing to target the Cameroon international in the coming weeks after it became clear that they are set to miss out on Delap to Chelsea.
It adds that Brentford value the left-footed forward at a fee of around £60m this summer, which means that the club would have to pay twice as much as Chelsea are due to pay for Delap in order to get a deal over the line for him.
GIVEMESPORT also reveals that Mbeumo is aware of the interest from Manchester United, but that a move is not far enough along for the player to have made a final decision on his future.
Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo celebrates after the match
The outlet states that United would be willing to pay the £60m price tag if they felt that it would give them an advantage over the likes of Newcastle United, who are unsure about whether or not they want to pay that much for the Brentford star.
Arsenal are also said to be keeping an eye on his situation heading into the summer transfer window, but the Magpies appear to be the biggest competition for his services.
Why Man Utd should sign Bryan Mbeumo
The Red Devils should swoop to sign the left-footed star ahead of Newcastle by paying the £60m asking price because he could be even better than Delap for Amorim.
liam delap
One of the biggest question marks looming over the Ipswich star is whether the 2024/25 campaign was just a flash in the pan? It was his first season in the Premier League, and he had never scored more than eight goals in a single Championship season previously in his career, out on loan with Preston, Stoke, and Hull.
That same concern would not be there with Mbeumo because he has proven himself to be a very capable Premier League performer over the course of a number of seasons at Brentford.
The 25-year-old star has played in the top-flight since the start of the 2021/22 campaign, following his team's promotion from the Championship, and has delivered plenty of quality in the final third since then.
After a return of just four goals and seven assists in his first season in the Premier League with Brentford, Mbeumo improved his output as a goalscoring threat for the Bees.
|Premier League career|
|Bryan Mbeumo|21/22|22/23|23/24|24/25|
|---|
|Appearances|35|38|25|38|
|xG|N/A|9.77|9.81|12.26|
|Goals|4|9|9|20|
|Big chances create|4|14|6|17|
|Assists|7|8|6|7|
|Stats via Sofascore|
As you can see in the table above, the £60m-rated sensation has consistently provided goals and assists at an impressive rate over the last three seasons, scoring more goals than United's top scorer this year in all three of those terms.
Mbeumo, who was once hailed as "unplayable" by manager Thomas Frank, also scored eight more goals and supplied five more assists than Delap in the Premier League in the 2024/25 campaign.
Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo celebrates scoring their first goal
This suggests that the Brentford star could be an even better signing than the England U21 international for several reasons, as he is more of a proven quantity at Premier League level, and has the potential to deliver even more quality in the final third as both a scorer and a creator of goals.
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Manchester United could be about to land a star who could be the new Scott McTominay.
Therefore, Mbeumo could be worth the extra £30m that United would have to pay to sign him this summer, which is why they should go ahead with a move to snap him up ahead of Newcastle.