Scoring machine or freak season? What Mbeumo could bring to Man Utd

Images courtesy of Getty
  • 744 Comments

Last season, Manchester United struggled to score goals, and they now seem determined to do something about it.

They are now pursuing Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo after spending £62.5 million on Brazilian international Matheus Cunha.

They have since responded with an offer worth more than $ 60 million after being rejected from a bid for £45 million earlier in June.

Was Mbeumo’s best season a one-off?

Last season, Mbeumo scored 20 goals for Brentford, all league goals. More Premier League goals were scored by Manchester City, Alexander Isak, and Mohamed Salah, Newcastle, by Alexander Isak, and by Liverpool.

The 25-year-old has for the first time ever achieved double figures for a top-flight club.

In addition to the goals he scored for Brentford in the Championship in 2019-20, he also netted 16 goals for Ligue 2 Troyes in 2018-19.

In his first three Premier League seasons, Cameroon won eight, nine, and nine (in all competitions) for a fairly consistent total.

His 20-goal haul may be a one-time achievement, according to the expected goals (xG) statistic. His xG of only 12.3 was out, which makes it difficult to overstate.

Man Utd fans will be full of excitement, though, especially now that they recently experienced their worst Premier League season.

Along with Cunha and Mbeumo, the Portuguese manager is moving quickly to address that firepower.

After leaving Atletico Madrid in 2023, Cunha scored 31 goals in 76 games for Wolves, but United fans should be wary about expecting too much from the duo in front of goal.

Cunha placed third last season in terms of surpassing his expected goals (15 goals from 8.6 xg), with only Mbeumo and Nottingham Forest’s Chris Wood recording bigger differences.

That level of clinical finishing has historically been unreliable.

What role does Mbeumo play in Amorim’s Man Utd?

However, the Cameroon international is being sold for more than just his goals.

Mbeumo prefers to play behind a striker, with Cunha expected to play behind him, but he also has the versatility to play centrally.

He consistently has the best end product and is at the top of the list for touches per 90 minutes for players who have scored more than 15 goals, demonstrating his involvement in the game.

He had seven assists, which placed him 17th overall, but he had the best number of expected assists in the Premier League, with 9.3 xA.

He would have anticipated that his team-mates would have completed more of his passes than they did. Salah only had an xA of 9.1 and had 18 assists.

Your browser does not support the Team Selector. Try using another browser, or enable JavaScript.

Man Utd XI

Choose your Man Utd starting lineup for the upcoming season.

Analysis: “United will have a bigger goal threat next season”

Amorim frequently discussed United’s inability to maximize their chances last season.

They must score more goals than the pathetic 44 league goals they managed last year.

Mbeumo’s arrival should help to fill that void, but he will also offer more than that, like Cunha did.

He can move the ball forward with both strength and speed. The nippy variety of United’s attacking players are too many because they are more comfortable operating in small spaces.

A strong number nine who can play with his back to goal and hold the ball up effectively, combined with Mbeumo, will give the opposition more space to play in and opportunities to succeed.

United are attempting to prevent their previous recruitment strategy from going wrong by bringing in Premier League players who don’t need settling-in time, which is short after the season ended.

The transformation of Amorim’s squad cannot be over with Mbeumo, and the former Sporting boss claimed it might take a few transfer windows before he can get what he wants.

The Mbeumo story: rise from £5 million signing to a £60 million sale

It is highly unlikely that the Bees would have imagined turning a £55 million profit six years later when Brentford purchased an 18-year-old Mbeumo from Troyes for a then club record-setting £5.8 million.

Mbeumo, who left Saudi side Al-Ahli after leaving Ivan Toney’s shadow, won the Premier League player of the year award alongside Salah, Isak, and Virgil van Dijk, who had the best season of his career to date last term.

The 25-year-old admitted to wanting to be the “best player possible” and that he is on the right track after scoring 20 goals in the Premier League last season.

Mbeumo, who uses a chef, physiotherapists, and personal trainers to prepare his meals at home, said, “Every little thing you can add to what we do on the training ground can help.”

“I tried to fit everything into my life on the pitch to be the best possible.”

Top-level football requires availability, and only teammate Nathan Collins played more games on the field than Mbeumo last year.

Mbeumo remarked, “Consistentity is really important.” The season must be performed for it to have big ambitions.

JavaScript must be enabled in your browser to play this video.

related subjects

  • Manchester United
  • Football

Chelsea’s Jackson given two-game ban for red card

Images courtesy of Getty
Nicolas Jackson’s red card from Friday’s 3-1 Club World Cup defeat by Flamengo has resulted in a two-game suspension.

Just four minutes after starting for Flamengo defender Lucas Ayrton, Jackson was dismissed.

The Senegalese international will miss tonight’s final group game against African side ES Tunis (02:00 BST), after receiving an automatic one-game ban.

However, after reviewing the incident and deciding to extend the ban due to serious foul play, Jackson will miss Chelsea’s final-16 game.

To advance to the knockout stages, Enzo Maresca’s side must avoid falling to ES Tunis in Philadelphia.

Jackson is now suspended from both the Premier League and the Club World Cup because it was his second game in four games.

Jackson now has a combined season-high of 10 cards, including eight yellow cards.

related subjects

  • Chelsea
  • Premier League
  • Football

Dart misses match points in defeat by Krejcikova

Images courtesy of Getty

In the Eastbourne first round, a depressed Harriet Dart narrowly lost to Barbora Krejcikova, the reigning Wimbledon champion, to two match points on her own.

On a wet and windy day on the coast, 124 Dart lost to Krejcikova, who is 17th overall, 6-3, 6-7 (1), 7-5.

The majority of the final set was dominated by a break for Britain’s Dart, who finished the match 5-4.

The 28-year-old Englishwoman was broken back before losing the next three games, but she could not hide her annoyance even with a 40-15 lead.

Krejcikova, a two-time major champion in singles, had previously served for the match at 6-5 in the second set.

Following a protracted layoff with a back injury, Czech Krejcikova has only played five games this year.

She lost her first grass-court encounter at Queen’s last week, but her confident victory over Englishwoman Dart will help her prepare for her Wimbledon title defense.

In the second round, Jodie Burrage will face Krejcikova, a British player.

Burrage defeated Moyuka Uchijima from Japan 6-3, 6-2, after missing last year’s Wimbledon due to an ankle problem.

Emma Raducanu, the reigning British champion, defeated Ann Li 6-7, 6-3, 6-1 in the second round, but Sonay Kartal, who defeated former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) to advance to the second round.

related subjects

  • Tennis

Dart misses match points in defeat by Wimbledon champion Krejcikova

Images courtesy of Getty

In the Eastbourne first round, a depressed Harriet Dart narrowly lost to Barbora Krejcikova, the reigning Wimbledon champion, to two match points on her own.

On a wet and windy day on the coast, 124 Dart lost to Krejcikova, who is 17th overall, 6-3, 6-7 (1), 7-5.

The majority of the final set was dominated by a break for Britain’s Dart, who finished the match 5-4.

The 28-year-old Englishwoman was broken back before losing the next three games, but she could not hide her annoyance even with a 40-15 lead.

Krejcikova, a two-time major champion in singles, had previously served for the match at 6-5 in the second set.

Following a protracted layoff with a back injury, Czech Krejcikova has only played five games this year.

She lost her first grass-court encounter last week at Queen’s, but her confident victory over Dart will help her prepare for her Wimbledon title defense.

In the second round, Jodie Burrage will face Krejcikova, a British player.

Burrage defeated Moyuka Uchijima from Japan 6-3, 6-2, after missing last year’s Wimbledon due to an ankle problem.

related subjects

  • Tennis

‘Best ever’ Jones did not ‘duck’ Aspinall – Topuria

Images courtesy of Getty

According to Ilia Topuria, former UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones never resisted facing Tom Aspinall.

After Jones, 37, made the announcement that he would no longer compete in the sport, Aspinall, a British boxer, was promoted from interim to undisputed heavyweight champion this week.

After refusing to fight Aspinall, 32, in a unification fight for seven months, Jones retired.

Topuria of Spain claims that Jones did not “duck” Aspinall in a fight that took place on Saturday at UFC 317 in Las Vegas.

“No, no, no, no, no. The best fight of all time was Jones. He has fought some of the world’s best fighters for the past ten years. Topuria told BBC Sport that he isn’t ducking anyone.

Former light-heavyweight champion and regarded as one of, if not, the best MMA fighters ever, Jones is.

He holds the record for most title-fight victories in the UFC with 16 wins, one loss, and one no-contest on the overall scale.

However, his chequered past outside of the octagon occasionally eclipses his accomplishments in the circle.

It emerged that Jones had been charged with leaving the scene of a February accident shortly after confirming his retirement this week.

Later, Jones’ attorney Christopher Dodd said in a statement that he was “stunned” by the charge and that the American was not involved.

Jon was not in the car or driving that night. According to the statement, it appears that an intoxicated woman made up a false allegation about Jon’s drinking while intoxicated to avoid being detained for DWI.

In 2015, Jones admitted to driving a pregnant woman while also entering a pre-adjudication agreement that allowed him to dismiss two misdemeanor charges against him after an altercation with an anti-doping officer.

related subjects

  • Mixed Martial Arts