Manchester United is expected to officially announce the date of Mbemmo's arrival! Tottenham have withdrawn and the Red Devils are in control of the negotiations

The 25-year-old Brentford winger is a current target for Manchester United's transfer signings, following Thomas Frank in charge of Tottenham, who joined the race for the goalscorer who scored 20 goals last season. However, Tottenham are rumoured to be unable to move Mbeumo and have now given up and dropped out of the race.

That means United are the only buyers for Mbeumo, but that doesn't mean the move is imminent, given Brentford's toughness, as always. It is reported that only a fixed transfer fee of more than 60 million pounds can convince the "Little Bee Army" to release him. Manchester United's only offer at the moment is £55 million, of which only £45 million is a fixed amount.

Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano revealed: "My understanding is that Manchester United are currently in control of the situation, negotiating with Brentford and the club-to-club dialogue is going on almost daily to try to find a solution. But we know that clubs like Brentford, Brighton, you want to negotiate to bring in their top players, it's not always easy to come to an agreement. Manchester United are working hard to negotiate at club level and they have also been in contact with the player's agent and have reached an agreement with Mbeumo because the player wants to go to Manchester United. So, now Manchester United are still the frontrunners, let's see if they can agree a transfer fee with Brentford.'

David Ornstein, an authoritative transfer expert at The Athletic, said: "Manchester United are exploring a deal to sign Mbeumo and he wants to join. The deal is very likely to be done, but it hasn't happened yet." Another well-known transfer journalist, Ben Jacobs, also said: "Manchester United remain optimistic about bringing in Mbeumo. The Brentford winger wants to join Manchester United, despite his mentor Frank being in charge of Tottenham. However, there is no agreement between the clubs and negotiations are continuing."

The British "Manchester Evening News" reported that Manchester United is expected to officially announce the signing of Mbeumo after July. This is because the new financial year starts on 1 July, a key milestone in the club's compliance with UEFA's FFP Financial Fair Play and Premier League PSR Profit and Sustainability Rules, so even if an agreement can be reached before the end of June, Mbeumo's signing could be delayed until the new financial year, especially if his transfer fee exceeds the original budgeted amount.

Manchester United's first pre-season friendly will be played in Sweden on 19 July against Premier League promoted Malize United; The official pre-season training camp is expected to start on July 7, so the club is in no hurry. When Manchester United travel to the United for the Premier League summer series in the United States, facing West Ham, Bournemouth and Everton, fans are expected to see Mbeumo already part of the squad.

However, with the 2025/26 fixtures announced on Wednesday, Manchester United will face the problem of not being able to participate in many games in the new season even if they sign Mbeumo. Because there is the Africa Cup of Nations at the end of the year, Mbemo and Andre Onana, Amad Diallo, Mazraoui and others will participate. During the Africa Cup of Nations, Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim will face the challenge of having only one available player on the right, Diogu Dalo!

The Africa Cup of Nations starts on December 21 and lasts until January 18, 2026, and Cameroon, where Mbemo and Onana are located, happens to be in Group F with Amad's Ivory Coast, Gabon and Mozambique, and Mazraoui's Morocco is the host, and Gabon, Central African Republic, and Lesotho are in Group B. The group stage of the Africa Cup of Nations is played on 24 December, 28 December and 31 December.

According to FIFA rules, clubs need to allow players to join the national team at least seven days before the tournament, meaning the likes of Mbeumo will definitely miss the Christmas schedule, including the three games against Aston Villa (20 December), Newcastle United (7 December) and Wolves (30 December).

If Cameroon and Ivory Coast finish first and second in their group, they will play on 4 January or 6 January, and will not be available for Manchester United in the league against Leeds United on 3 January. Once in the final, they could even miss the Manchester derby against Burnley on 7 January and Manchester City on 17 January.