On Monday night, David Ornstein dropped a big exclusive for The Athletic on Bryan Mbeumo, revealing that the Brentford winger has chosen Man Utd as his next move.
Ornstein confirmed interest from Newcastle, Arsenal and Spurs, but the news felt like a blow and suggested the player had picked money over the chance to play Champions League football at St James’ Park.
Since then, Newcastle fans have questioned if the club have missed a trick or acted too slowly in the chase for the 20-goal Cameroonian, but a new report on Mbeumo’s potential move to Manchester may explain why Newcastle were never looking a likely destination.
According to [The Times’](https://www.thetimes.com/sport/football/article/bryan-mbeumo-man-united-brentford-transfer-news-vsls7dn35) Martin Hardy, Newcastle felt an overall package to bring Bryan Mbeumo to St James’ Park was ‘too expensive.’
The club have money to spend this summer and PIF are expected to back Eddie Howe, but Hardy reports that Mbeumo is demanding £250,000-per-week from his next club.
Not only are Man Utd seemingly the only bidder prepared to pay this, having wasted £300,000 each week on Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho, they will also pay a huge fee to land the 25-year-old.
The Times report that Brentford will demand in excess of £60m for the winger, being in a strong selling position given their option to extend his deal by a further 12 months.
Wages of £250,000-per-week would see Mbeumo earn £1m-per-month and £12m over the season. Spread that across a five-year deal at a £60m fee and you’re looking at an investment of £120m.
Alongside that, breaking our wage structure for a good player but not an elite one with Champions League experience may not have been a wise move. Would it set a precedent for future signings, impact us down the line from a PSR perspective or even unsettle current Newcastle stars on top weekly wages of around £150,000?
Mbeumo is a Premier League proven winger who scored 20 goals last season, so there is no doubt he’d have improved us. However, if these claims are true regarding this mega-money move to Man Utd, it may explain why Newcastle are not the top choice as he heads to Old Trafford seeing pound signs.