Bryan Mbeumo to Man Utd transfer U-turn as manager privately changes things

Manchester United felt they were closing in on the signing of Bryan Mbeumo - that was before Brentford's appointment of Keith Andrews threw a spanner in the works with progress stalled.

The Red Devils have seen several bids for the Cameroon forward rejected, the last being £60million, with the Bees sticking robustly to their valuation. The two parties remain millions apart in their respective figures and the change in the dugout has not helped.

Andrews is another internal hire at Brentford, replacing Thomas Frank. The new Tottenham boss was thought to be keen on Mbeumo, but the north Londoners now look to have gone in a different direction.

It leaves United with a free shot at the Brentford star, who himself wants the move, but they have struggled to agree on a fee. The MEN also understands that Andrews' arrival as the new head coach has further complicated matters with the Irishman wanting to keep his top players.

Mbeumo scored 20 times last term and has emerged as the club's prime attacking weapon, stepping up impressively after the departure of Ivan Toney.

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United had wanted to get Mbeumo through the door for the start of their pre-season having originally started negotiations weeks ago for the 25-year-old. That hasn't proved to be the case but if they can striker a deal he could yet join them on their tour of the United States.

Brentford's director of football Phil Giles has maintained that the club will not do business unless it makes sense for them and has opened the door to the possibility of Mbeumo staying in west London for the foreseeable. Leaving it up to the Manchester outfit to table the necessary figure.

He said: “We’ve made our point clear. If Bryan earned a massive move now and it was right for us financially, we’d be open to it. But if he ended up here with us next season, I wouldn’t be massively surprised. We’d be delighted. And it would save me a massive headache, frankly.”

Mbeumo himself stands to massively increase his pay packet if he does secure a move to Manchester, which could still be on the cards. The Bees have targeted another forward in Ipswich's Omari Hutchinson, who could serve as the man to replace Mbeumo if he leaves.

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