Bryan Mbeumo already looks like Man Utd's signing of the summer - but £71m man must recapture Brentford goalscoring touch to avoid becoming another Old Trafford flop

Mbeumo may only have one league goal so far but it has not been for a lack of trying. He is averaging three shots per game, and that's including him having zero attempts in a surprisingly shy performance against Fulham. In every other game he has played on the front foot, living up to his reputation as a workhorse forward who fights for every ball.

His long-running Brentford boss Thomas Frank highlighted this trait in 2023, saying: "His work rate for the team is incredible. You don't see many wingers who work so hard and mean so much. He's become the key man saying, 'Give me the ball, I'll take this.'"

Ruben Amorim has also seen the benefits of the forward's relentless energy. "It's impressive how he stretches the team, the quality that he has in his first touch," the coach said after beating Burnley on August 30, when Mbeumo scored his only league goal. "You can feel that we are a different team, because when we win the ball we have one guy stretching the team. Last season we struggled a bit with that."

Mbeumo's enthusiasm is also infectious and Amorim has noticed how his eagerness to fight for the ball livens up his team-mates and by extension the Old Trafford crowd. He added: "You can see the first minutes of the game and you can feel it, it's not about playing well, it's the sound of the fans when we are pressing, winning balls, corners, we sprint to get the corner."

Mbeumo's stretching of the opposition was plain to see against Chelsea, when he latched on to a Benjamin Sesko flick-on to provoke the early sending off of Robert Sanchez which turned the game in United's favour. 

Mbeumo had forced a save from Sanchez moments earlier with a stooping header and his relentless running powered the team's dominant first-half performance, ensuring they made the most of their man advantage until Casemiro got sent off. He got a standing ovation when he was substituted and a high five from a delighted Amorim.

While Sesko is still getting up to speed with the pace of the new league and adapting to his team-mates, his role in the moment of the game against Chelsea offers hope that he can form a partnership with Mbeumo. 

And while the Slovenian will be judged by the goals he scores himself, he will do his team a lot of favours if he can support Mbeumo's ambition to replicate his 20 goals for Brentford last season - a mark no United player has managed since Robin van Persie in Sir Alex Ferguson's final season.

At Brentford, Mbeumo had an excellent supporting cast. In his first season following his move from French side Troyes he played off Ollie Watkins and Said Benrahma. He then formed a ferocious front two with Ivan Toney, the pair firing Brentford to promotion to the Premier League and then maintaining an impressive partnership in the top flight, including a 4-0 shellacking of United in Erik ten Hag's second game in charge. 

That pairing was stopped in its tracks by Toney's eight-month ban for gambling but it led to Mbeumo striking up his most profitable and most enjoyable partnership yet, with Yoane Wissa.

Mbeumo and Wissa contributed to a combined 80 goals in their two seasons together. As well as scoring 20 times across the 2024-25 campaign, Mbeumo also racked up seven assists, with Wissa close behind on 19 goals and four assists. The pair were also close off the pitch, moving next door to each other.

"I'm someone who needs support and love to give my best performances," Mbeumo told Brentford's official media last year in a joint-interview with Wissa. "I'm really lucky to have someone like Wissa, who always wants the best for me. 

"I always want to give 100 percent, but there are some times when I'm feeling down, so having someone like him who will help and push you in the right direction is brilliant to have."

Mbeumo has lost one ally at United after his Cameroon team-mate Andre Onana left on loan for Trabzonspor, although he knew Leny Yoro before coming after meeting him on holiday. 

His team-mates used words such as "humble" and "quiet" to describe him, which is perhaps understandable for a player known for being cerebral. For exmaple, his two main hobbies outside football are playing chess and the piano.

Mostly, though, his team-mates are simply left in awe of his quality. 

"Really good guy. Once you get to know him he's a bit louder than everyone makes out, funny as well," said Kobbie Mainoo. "Seeing what he’s done over the last few seasons, the amount of goals he scores and the quality he has, to bring him here I was always excited to see that. Really quick, really strong and with a great touch as well."

"Very powerful, very powerful," was Manuel Ugarte's description. "For him it's easy to score." Not that easy, as it turns out. 

For all of the positivity Mbeumo has given United, he needs to start scoring to ensure he does not meet the same fate as United's other expensive forwards who struggled to find the net soon after joining.

Jadon Sancho, who cost £74m, did not score his first Premier League goal until late November, ending his debut campaign with a hugely disappointing three goals and three assists, having averaged 26 goals and assists per season in the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund. 

Rasmus Hojlund, a £72m signing, did not score his first Premier League goal until deep into December of his first season. He ended that campaign with 10 goals but it set the tone for a disappointing spell which appears to have already ended with his departure on loan for Napoli. 

Antony did get off to a good start, scoring a record three goals in his first three league starts, although the league's defenders soon worked out how to deal with the Brazilian and he soon became a laughing stock, leaving for Real Betis this summer for just £21m after arriving for £85m, and with just five league goals to his name in two-and-a-half seasons.

Mbeumo, however, has the Premier League experience that the other three lacked and has already endeared himself to supporters. More goals will surely come, and while the return to Brentford on Saturday is sure to be an emotional experience for a player who spent six seasons there, it is also an ideal environment for him to add to his goals against Burnley and Grimsby.

Brentford are one place above the relegation zone with four points from their five games, fulfilling many prophecies that they would struggle after losing Mbeumo, Wissa, captain Christian Norgaard and goalkeeper Mark Flekken.

The biggest loss of all though was Thomas Frank, their coach for six years and who, alongside Mbeumo, oversaw their rise from the Championship to Premier League mainstays.

Their top-flight status is now under threat under his successor Keith Andrews, who was Frank's set-piece coach and had no previous experience as a first-team boss. 

The Bees have the third-worst defence in the league so far, conceding an average of two goals per game. And confidence will be low after a resounding 3-1 defeat by rivals Fulham in their last outing.

Mbeumo called his time at Brentford "an incredible journey full of emotions, smiles and laughs" but once United were interested in him the Bees stood no chance of keeping him. Champions League qualifiers Newcastle and Tottenham - the latter with the added appeal of Frank as coach - could not compete with United, who tugged at Mbeumo's heartstrings once they made it clear they wanted to sign him.

"My first top was Manchester United’s top with Ronaldo on the back," he said when his move to Old Trafford was confirmed. "For me, it’s the biggest club in the world. The fans are crazy, the stadium is amazing, and every player wants to play here."

He has already got the fans onside but as much as they applaud effort, they want him to score more than anything else. A goal or two against his former employers and again against Sunderland the following week will go a long way to ensuring he stays on the right side and does not succumb to the pressure and doubts that consumed other players with similar price tags.