The football transfer market has just gone insanely berserk, and Man Utd come out of it looking like absolute geniuses.
Omar Berrada, Jason Wilcox, and Sir Jim Ratcliffe aren’t the most popular people in Manchester right now, but even their staunch critics can’t deny one thing.
The transfer market strategy has paid dividends, with Manuel Ugarte arguably the only undisputed “flop” among all the signings they’ve made.
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The best signing award might just have been decided now, not just at United, but across the entire Premier League, if the latest £50m ‘agreement’ is any indicator of where the market is going.
Manchester United's Cameroonian midfielder #19 Bryan Mbeumo (2nd L) celebrates with teammates after scoring his team's first goal to equalise during the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium in London on January 25, 2026
Photo by Ben STANSALL / AFP via Getty Images
£50m ‘agreement’ sends PL transfer market into overdrive
One only needs to take a single look at the Champions League table to realise that the Premier League is effectively the Super League in disguise.
All five Premier League clubs have qualified among the top eight, including Spurs, who can’t seem to buy a win in the league.
The financial muscle of clubs, even at the lower end of the league, is comparable to the elites of other countries, and the latest £50m agreement between Crystal Palace and Wolves puts it into perspective.
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As per David Ornstein, Palace and Wolves are close to an agreement worth £45m + £5 in add-ons for Norwegian striker Jorgen Strand Larsen.
The fee would smash their current club record set by Brennan Johnson when he moved from Spurs for about £37m.
For context, Strand Larsen has a single goal and one assist in the league this season, following 14 goals in the league last season.
If £50m is the going rate for production of that level, then it’s clear that United have already sealed the best deal of the Premier League this season.
Strand Larsen fee reshapes Bryan Mbeumo transfer conversation
On the basis of the current season alone, Bryan Mbeumo was shaping up to be one of the best signings of the transfer window.
Bryan Mbeumo was lethal with limited opportunities vs Arsenal, is centre-forward his best position?
Mbeumo stats
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Mbeumo has become United’s talisman in attack, scoring in big games and being the first name on their team sheet in multiple positions under multiple managers.
However, eyebrows were raised when United spent an initial £65m on him in the summer, rising to a potential £71m fee if add-ons are realised.
Brentford drove a hard bargain, and were even criticised for shifting the goalposts constantly in an effort to squeeze the last penny out of United.
Seeing Strand Larsen command a fee of £50m must have Brentford feeling like United committed a daylight robbery, let alone squeezed out of the last penny.
For comparison, Mbeumo had come off a 20-goal season in the Premier League, while Larsen hasn’t scored 20 goals in total in England in a season-and-a-half.
Mbeumo is positionally versatile, has a better all-around game, and is at an age where he will play out his best years at Old Trafford.
Strand Larsen’s transfer fee means the transfer market has just gone insanely berserk. It proves that Man Utd’s deal for Mbeumo, worth an initial £65m, is the best deal in the Premier League this season.
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