Bryan Mbeumo has said his first season at Manchester United has been a step forward, but not a finished product, after the 26-year-old ended his debut campaign with nine league goals. In an exclusive interview near the end of the season with The i Paper's Pete Hall, the forward said there had been “some good bits” and “some bits to improve” after a campaign that included goals at Anfield, the Emirates and against Manchester City.
Mbeumo said he felt he made a strong start at Old Trafford and that his approach has always been to chase more, even when things are going well. He described himself as someone who has tried to beat records throughout his career and said he has never wanted to settle for one good spell. “Every year in my career I have always come back better than I was before,” he said, adding that each season should bring improvement and that the next step “can only be better.”
The numbers explain why his first year has drawn attention. Before this season, Mbeumo had not reached double figures in any of his three previous Premier League campaigns, even though he had already shown he could score in bursts. Last term he hit 20 goals for Brentford, then joined United for £71m after six seasons there. At United, he has helped form partnerships with Matheus Cunha and Amad Diallo and has given Bruno Fernandes another outlet in attack.
That move from Brentford matters beyond one player’s scoring record. United have spent years paying heavily for signings that did not solve their problems, and Mbeumo’s early form has been treated inside the club and by Ineos as evidence that bringing in players with Premier League experience can work. His debut season did not deliver the sort of relentless scoring run he had at Brentford, but his goals in the biggest away games and against City have given the transfer a different kind of value.
There is, though, a sharper edge to the way Mbeumo spoke about the season. His scoring drought since early February explains why he sounded restless rather than satisfied. He said he was still happy because it had been “a top season, especially collectively,” but his tone suggested a player who expects more from himself and who is already measuring the next target.
What helped make the Brentford years matter, he said, was the foundation they gave him as a player and a person. “I think six years at Brentford was really, really important for me,” he said, adding that he had been working toward a move like this all his life and knew something of this scale could happen. He has also been careful off the pitch, saying he added his own chef and personal trainers to make sure his body was right.
Football is only part of the picture. Mbeumo can play the piano, has got Luke Shaw into chess and said the two of them now share the same ranking in the game. “He is actually good,” Mbeumo said of Shaw, turning a dressing-room hobby into another sign of how quickly he has settled into life at United. For a player who arrived with a big price tag and big expectations, the first season has brought goals, partnerships and proof that he belongs at this level. The harder test now is whether he can turn a strong start into the kind of sustained scoring run that changes a season for United.
