Brentford boss: Mbeumo will move on to a big club

Brentford manager Thomas Frank has claimed that star forward Bryan Mbeumo will join a ‘bigger club’ in the future. The Bees have certainly figured out a way to develop attackers under the Danish coach. Since Frank entered the fray in 2018, Brentford has made a series of profitable moves regarding offensive players.

Neal Maupay, Ollie Watkins, Said Benrahma and Ivan Toney were all purchased by the club in recent years for a combined fee of $18 million. Watkins, now starring for Aston Villa, was the priciest of these players at under $8 million. The quartet, however, eventually helped generate nearly $126 million after they were all sold to other teams.

It now seems as if Mbeumo could be next in line. The Cameroon international has been a hit signing since joining Brentford for around $7 million in 2019. He has racked up 23 goals and 14 assists in his last 69 Premier League matches with the Bees. As a result, Transfermarkt currently values Mbeumo at about $44 million.

Frank hints that Mbeumo is more important to Bees than Toney was

Frank was asked about his star attacker in a recent press conference. The manager raved about the versatile star and even claimed that Mbeumo would likely move on to a bigger club in the future.

“He was our key player and has added another layer this season with five goals in six games,” stated Frank. “That’s incredible. He’s a top player. I’m convinced he will play for a bigger club. I’d buy him if I was at a bigger club!”

“We convinced him to stay and he’s very happy. All our players might need to leave us one day but a lot of them are happy because we have a top environment, with good people. We push each other.”

Frank also admitted that Mbeumo’s serious injury last season affected the team more than Toney’s absence. Mbeumo suffered a nasty ankle setback in December, forcing him to miss three months of action. Toney, on the other hand, remained on the sidelines after receiving an eight-month ban for betting on matches.

“[Mbeumo] was the biggest miss last year for three months,” continued Frank. “We had Ivan out. Of course, I still wanted Ivan to be there, but suddenly we missed our key player. Ivan was out for (nearly) the whole season, so that’s why we couldn’t use him. So, I think with Ivan out and then losing Bryan, I think that was an even bigger hit.”

Trio of top Premier League sides recently linked with Mbeumo

Frank’s comments suggest that Mbeumo was targeted by top teams during the recent summer transfer market. While a move never materialized, big clubs will certainly return for the star next summer if he can keep up his scoring pace. At the moment, only Erling Haaland and Cole Palmer have more Premier League goals this season than Mbeumo.

Along with his impressive statistics, the Cameroonian’s versatility is also a major attraction for other teams. Although not the biggest player, Mbeumo is capable of either playing on the right wing or through the middle as a center forward.

Arsenal, Liverpool, and Newcastle have all been recently rumored to be interested in the Brentford star. The Gunners opted to sign Raheem Sterling on loan from Chelsea during the recent transfer window. The move, however, is not permanent, and Arsenal needs to find long-term competition for Bukayo Saka.

Liverpool, on the other hand, could be losing superstar Mohamed Salah next summer. If so, the Reds will have a huge hole to fill in the position. Even now, the Egyptian attacker is the only true right winger on the team’s roster. Likewise, Newcastle is also looking for upgrades at the position over Jacob Murphy and Miguel Almiron.

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