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Best signing since Bruno?
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The dark days that Rúben Amorim promised Manchester United fans have certainly loomed large across the last year but there’s been signs of optimism across recent weeks. United have won three consecutive games for the first time under the Portuguese boss and Bryan Mbeumo has been pivotal. The 26-year-old provided an assist in the 2-0 win against Sunderland, opened the scoring in United’s first league win away to Liverpool since 2016 and netted a brace against Brighton on Saturday.
Many believed that Old Trafford chiefs overpaid when they spent €75 million to acquire Mbeumo from Brentford this summer but those critics have fallen silent. United clearly wanted to add Premier League proven players to bolster a misfiring attack and Mbeumo joined Matheus Cunha. Only the three relegated teams and Everton scored fewer league goals than United last season and Amorim identified improving their attacking options as the priority and Mbeumo is delivering.
Is Bryan Mbeumo one of Premier League's most underrated stars?
It was a difficult start to the season for United and pressure mounted on Amorim after significant summer investment. Mbeumo also endured a tough evening when he missed the crucial penalty in the embarrassing shoot-out defeat against Grimsby in the League Cup. The Cameroon international has been United’s best player this season and he’s their top scorer with five goals in ten games. Speaking after the Brighton win, Amorim lauded Mbeumo, stating: “He’s a working machine. He’s so good in transitions. He’s improving when we are organising the final third. The connection with Amad, it’s really hard to beat these two guys because they change position, they are really fast, they are good in one against one.”
Mbeumo is an understated and humble character but he doesn’t yet possess the superstar status like other top attackers but he should, based on his attacking output. Only Erling Haaland (33) and Mohamed Salah (32) have scored more Premier League goals than the current Man United attacker since the start of last season. Mbeumo has 24 goals in 47 games for Brentford and United, but he has played more games than many of his peers. When it comes to goal contributions across the same period, Mbuemo also ranks third with 33 g/a but he’s only four behind Manchester City’s Haaland.
Manchester United’s upcoming Mbuemo problem
There is a major issue approaching on the horizon for United as Mbeumo will participate at the African Cup of Nations. It will be a major blow for Amorim and Mbeumo will miss seven games if Cameroon reach the final, including big games against Manchester City and Arsenal. Amorim will face a major dilemma as the player best suited to filling Mbeumo’s role on the right of United’s attack is Amad and he will also be at AFCON.
