Newcastle United have backed out of a move for Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo, who has now chosen to join Manchester United this summer.
Ruben Amorim will be delighted by the prospect of Bryan Mbeumo heading to Man United, a brilliantly versatile forward who can play alongside Matheus Cunha in the number 10 roles.
Of course, Newcastle have been looking for a new right winger for some time now — they’re still yet to replace Miguel Almiron who headed back to the MLS.
Jacob Murphy has been brilliant in Almiron’s place, but Newcastle wanted Mbeumo to come and take their attack to the next level.
Newcastle have money to spend this summer, and they’ve got serious intentions of doing so.
Newcastle think Man United are paying too much for Bryan Mbeumo
That being said, TBR Football chief correspondent Graeme Bailey can now reveal why Newcastle ultimately withdrew from the race for Mbeumo this summer.
Whilst the Frenchman has chosen a move to Man United, Newcastle weren’t prepared to pay Brentford’s asking price, which was over £60m.
Explaining the Mbeumo situation as a whole, Bailey said: “Brentford accept that Bryan Mbeumo is leaving, he has made it clear to them he wants to leave – I am told they didn’t even get a chance to sit down with him to talk about a new contract, as they confirmed to the club he wanted to leave.
“Mbeumo to that point has now confirmed that his preference is to join Man United – they have been pushing strongly for him.
Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images
Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images
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“Arsenal and Newcastle have shown strong interest, whilst Tottenham and Aston Villa have been on the fringes.
“Newcastle, though, I am told have baulked at the fee – which we can confirm is over £60m.
“Brentford have just seen United pay £62.5m for Matheus Cunha – the precedent is cast in iron – they won’t be taking less than that figure.
“But that has helped United – their rivals for Mbeumo won’t pay that fee as it stands, and together with the forward’s desire to move to Old Trafford – they are firmly on course to land him and it could be done quickly.”
Eddie Howe needs to find a Bryan Mbeumo alternative
Of course, it’s always looked likely that Mbeumo would finally leave Brentford this summer.
Brentford boss Thomas Frank admitted that Mbeumo might go, providing that any interested clubs paid the right fee.
Thierry Henry also expected Mbeumo to leave — he’s simply ready for the next step in his career, with the greatest respect to Brentford.
And Newcastle will now move on to other targets to improve their front line next season.
It’s been announced that Paul Mitchell will leave Newcastle at the end of this month, and that change is expected to hand Eddie Howe more control in the transfer market.