Manchester United beat Newcastle United to the signing of Bryan Mbeumo in the summer, so the Magpies instead went and signed his former strike partner Yoane Wissa.
In the recent summer transfer window, Manchester United won the race for Bryan Mbeumo ahead of Wednesday evening’s opponents Newcastle United, who also made him a top target.
United paid £65m for Mbeumo’s signature, and Ineos will judge it as money well spent considering he is currently United’s top scorer in 2025/26.
Newcastle missed out on Mbeumo so signed Yoane Wissa instead, and when the two clubs go head-to-head in the Premier League, the former Brentford duo will be reunited.
Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa celebrate against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Photo by Lee Parker – CameraSport via Getty Images
Man Utd have not done the double over Newcastle in the league since 2020/21
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Bryan Mbeumo has stepped up while Yoane Wissa has struggled
As per BBC Sport, Mbeumo said he became “good friends” with Wissa during their time together at Brentford.
“He helped me a lot with the mental part,” Mbeumo said. “I get angry really easy and he helped me to just stay cool. In different things in life outside of football, he has helped me a lot. I used to live really close to him, just one minute away. Sometimes I was joining him at his, having dinners.”
In the 2024/25 campaign, Mbeumo scored 20 goals for Brentford while Wissa scored 19, both landing themselves a place in the top six scorers in that Premier League season.
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But while Mbeumo has been excellent for United since leaving Brentford, the same cannot be said for Wissa at Newcastle.
Mbeumo has scored 10 goals for United and helped to lift the Red Devils to third. Meanwhile, Wissa only has one Premier League goal to his name. He suffered with injury for the first half of the season, but he has since appeared in 12 of Newcastle’s last 14 matches.
10 goals already… how many will Bryan Mbeumo end up with this season?
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Man United will be happier than Newcastle about transfers
A rivalry was reignited between Manchester United and Newcastle in the summer as both clubs ended up targeting the same players.
United beat Newcastle to Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko. All three forwards have made a huge positive impact in their debut season at Old Trafford.
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Newcastle instead ended up signing Wissa, Nick Woltemade and former United star Anthony Elanga, who has been a major transfer flop for the Magpies.
On Wednesday, Mbeumo, Sesko and Cunha all have a chance to prove they made the right decision by snubbing Newcastle to join the Red Devils.
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