Bryan Mbeumo deal could be OFF as Brentford chief serves chilling warning

Brentford insist they are in “constant dialogue” with Bryan Mbeumo and are adamant it is “not impossible” that the Manchester United target remains at the Gtech Stadium this summer, and with their director of football casting serious doubts over the prospects of a move to Old Trafford.

The Red Devils have homed in on the Cameroon forward as their next big-money target to boost the attack, seeing the Brentford winger as an ideal addition to play as one of two No.10s in manager Ruben Amorim’s preferred 3-4-2-1 formation. But while Manchester United managed to sign the first of those in Matheus Cunha from Wolves with the minimum of fuss – albeit owing to an exit clause that made negotiations relatively stress-free – striking a deal for Mbeumo has been a thoroughly different matter.

Indeed, while United have seen two offers for Mbeumo rejected by the Bees – the second worth a total of £62.5m (€73.2m, $85.8m) which included a downpayment worth £55m – talks have been continuing in the hope of reaching a compromise.

And with Fabrizio Romano talking up the prospects of a third offer doing the trick, hopes had been raised that an agreement would soon be struck.

However, the Bees’ director of football, Phil Giles, now claims Mbeumo could STAY in south-west London in an update that has really flipped the script.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Giles stated: “He had a fantastic season. We expected big interest in him, we have had big interest in him.

“He has his ideas about where he wants to take his career. He is well within his rights to do that.”

And in a chilling warning to the Red Devils, he added: “It is not impossible he is still a Brentford player next season if we agree he is going to stay.”

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Man Utd making little progress in Mbeumo transfer talks

The Bees are understood to be seeking as much as a £70m package to let Mbeumo, who scored 20 goals in the 2024/25 season and weighed in with a further eight assists from 42 games, leave this summer.

That fee, while within United’s reach, is probably more than they want to pay, though with talks continuing, the Red Devils’ director of football, Jason Wilcox, who is leading the negotiations, will hope to strike a compromise soon enough.

As a result, a report on Monday claimed United had set themselves a seven-day deadline to wrap up the transfer.

However, Giles insists Brentford will only sell if their valuation is met and claims there has been little progress in the talks.

And now Giles has warned that Mbeumo would only be sold if it was “the right deal” for his club.

“Any club will tell you that,” he added. “If it’s not the right deal, why would we do it?

“He is certainly one of our best players, if not our best player, and we need our best players. There’s no harm in keeping your best players.”

Giles, though, has confirmed that a £15m package to sell Christian Norgaard to Arsenal is in progress.

“We have been in conversations with Arsenal for the last week to 10 days,” said Giles. “As it stands, it hasn’t been completed yet, but it is heading in that direction.

“If that happens for him, then fantastic, he’s earned it. He’s been a brilliant captain for us.

“Let’s see how that story ends, but we are pretty open about that interest there.”

Man Utd transfer round-up: New Serie A keeper link; Gyokeres’ next steps

Meanwhile, two pundits have urged a top Serie A keeper to make the move to United in the summer transfer window, though Amorim’s side need to up their game to get a deal done.

United are also reportedly in contact to sign a top Serie A marksman, who is ready to make the move to Old Trafford, but for an eye-watering salary that would make him the second-highest paid at the Premier League club.

Meanwhile, Viktor Gyokeres is ready to take drastic action to force a move out of Sporting CP, with sources telling TEAMtalk that he has told Man Utd that he wants to join them.

Mbeumo’s impressive 2024/25 stats show exactly why Man Utd are so keen

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