Now that Bryan Mbeumo has (finally) joined MUFC we all know the quality of player he is yet what could he bring to this United side and speficially Ruben Amorim's system?
Who is he?
Bryan Mbeumo is a 25 year old Cameroonian international who was signed from Brentford. His career began at Troyes in France where he spent four seasons playing for their U19s and B-team before making it into the first team in 2019.
He then made the switch to Brentford in that COVID-hit campaign of 19/20.
Mbeumo spent six seasons with the Bees where he scored 70 goals and grabbed 51 assists in 242 matches. 20 of those 70 strikes also came in his superb season last year which saw the forward finish 4th in the top scorers chart.
He was born in France to a Cameroonian father and French mother and has represented both France and Cameroon at international level. However, as we know, the nation he currently plays for is the Indomitable Lions which is who he made the switch to back in 2022.
Mbeumo has represented his country on 22 occasions scoring just 6 goals. This makes him the second from that nation to play for United with current international teammate Andre Onana in goal for United.
Play style
Strengths
The 25 year old has several strengths that will be beneficial to Ruben Amorim one of which being the fact that he's a goal threat.
As mentioned, he had a standout campaign last year with his 20 goals and as United need goals, this will do nicely. In contrast in the league, Bruno Fernandes had the most for United with just 8. Our strikers were sitting on 4 (Rasmus Hojlund) and 3 (Joshua Zirkzee).
😐.
In addition to his goal scoring prowess, Mbeumo is quite the versatile player. While his preferred position is as a right-winger, he can play all across the front line. He may not be the best no 9 out there but considering what we have, he will probably be an improvement.
He can also play as a wing-back or attacking midfielder 👀. These are two positions where we are kind of stacked but as Amorim may want to fit certain players into his lineup, this type of versatility could allow the manager to do just that.
One of his best traits is his work rate and pressing. He is a player who relentless in the press due to his high-energy. We know that in today's football, that ability to press (specifically from the front) is all important.
In addition to these, Mbeumo is a top dribbler and is relatively quick, has great delivery from set-pieces (we won't have to rely on Bruno taking these all the time) and the same goes for penalties with 7 out of 8 scored last season.
Some of his weaknesses do include a lack of decision-making in the final third as he much like his new United teammates, prefers to shoot or go for the spectacular instead of opting for the simpler approach. This can lead to turnovers which is a problem we've been suffering with for a while.
He isn't the most imposing either as he stands at just 5'7" which could be a problem when trying to hold off defenders.
Tactical fit
Right-sided no 10. I believe he is perfectly suited for that role.
United haven't had the two ideal players for those CAM positions. The manager has tried all of Bruno, Amad, Garnacho, Zirkzee, Mount and Mainoo with none of them truly clicking in those roles.
With Matheus Cunha who is perfect for the left-sided no 10 and now Mbeumo, Amorim has managed to sort those two issues out.
The former Bees player (who good does that sound 😁?) likes to cut-in onto his stronger left-foot which is why he prefers to play on the right. We know that in this day-and-age of football, inverted players is the way to go. Amorim even called Mbeumo "perfect" due to his left-footedness and coming in off the right.
Due to his versatility along with the addition of Cunha as well as having Amad, Mount and Zirkzee, Amorim will have no shortage of options in his attack with each player bringing something different to the table. With attackers swapping positions, it causes a bit of uncertainty in opposition defenses as each player has different sets of skills.
As Mbeumo likes to cut-in, this can create space out wide for the wing-back whoever that may be. This means that they can go forward and be part of the attack as well. The wing-back could also help to create space for Mbeumo by making the overlapping run allowing for the forward man to cut-in on his favored left-foot.
Of course, Mbeumo himself could play as the wing-back which creates a similar dynamic. As a wing-back, he can bring that work rate and high-energy both in defense and offense while continuing to produce in the final third in terms of his output. The pace of Mbeumo is another factor to consider. All these ingredients could make him a great wing-back even if it takes him away from his best and most lethal position.
Speaking of that work rate, the Cameroonian had covered a total distance of 387.6km which ranked him 3rd for most distance covered in the PL last season. With Amorim requiring a relentless press, this is another weapon to add to the arsenal.
With Mbeumo being quite direct, this will bring a smile to Amorim's face as well as in 2024, Sporting were the club that led in build-up attacks with 74 in that year. Amorim was manager.
Mbeumo's dribbling and ability to drive with the ball are other aspects of his game that make him a great signing as United don't have anywhere near enough players like these (Mbeumo was ranked joint-9th in the PL last season with 130 progressive carries). Amad is one such player and so is Mainoo (to an extent although we don't know how much game time he will get) and that's it.
With 8 assists last season, he is also a player who has a decent amount of creativity. Mbeumo made the 5th-most key passes in the PL with 70 which was 21 behind the man at the top, Bruno Fernandes.
The 25 year old also likes to drift between the lines as well as help to overload oppositions in certain areas which is another reason as to why he's perfect for Amorim's 3-4-2-1.
Out of possession, he ranked in the top 10% of PL wingers when it came to his defensive pressures as Mbeumo is brilliant at closing passing lanes.
Other things Mbeumo's play style brings to the table is that ability up front with his goal contributions and the fact that he is great when it comes to fast starts which is something we don't do well at all. United were notoriously slow at starting games. Mbeumo actually scored within 40 seconds in three straight games 😳.
With the likes of Cunha and Bruno around him, it allows for good link up play with his new teammates. Both Cunha and Mbeumo are great at quick interplay and running in behind. Pair this with Bruno's vision and it could make for a deadly combo.
With Brentford being a brilliant counter-attacking side, Mbeumo comes into play here as well. With his pace, skill and ability to carry the ball, it will mean another outlet for United when in transition especially from deeper positions. And you know how we like to counter-attack.
As he and Cunha are two of the better no 10s in the league, they could lighten the load off of Bruno who is pretty much a one man band when it comes to creating and scoring. We've been so dependent on him since he joined 5 years ago but at least he now has others who can reduce that goal-threat pressure.
Mbeumo is also Premier League proven which is always a nice to have as well as just 25 years old which is a great age. He's experienced enough but also not too old to a point where he's coming to the end of his career.
He's also not injury prone despite having an ankle injury that kept him out for 19 games for club and country in the 23/24 campaign. The only other time he missed a game was due to Corona virus in 19/20.
One big issue we will have with him as well as other African players (Onana, Amad, Mazraoui) is that they will miss a month or so of club football as they could be at the AFCON in January next year.
Those could be big blows for Amorim.
Other than that, Bryan Mbeumo seems tailor-made to play in Amorim's 3-4-2-1.
I'm pretty happy with this signing as he ticks all the boxes similarly to Cunha. These are the type of players we should be looking to sign more often.
Bryan Mbeumo, welcome to Manchester United 🤝.
Bryan Mbeumo: Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images via Stretty News