Mbeumo's Brentford story: Dodging lightning to unearth the next gem

Bryan Mbeumo is not the first hidden gem Brentford have unearthed and he will not be the last – but he might be the one they went the furthest lengths to acquire.

In 2019, so sure was technical director Lee Dykes that they could get Mbeumo, he convinced owner Matthew Benham to charter a jet – and manager Thomas Frank and then-co-sporting director Rasmus Ankersen to get on it with him – to race to France for talks.

It was mid-August, one of the hottest days of the year in France, and there was no air-conditioning in an hour-long taxi ride to the meeting. Hot, tired and after intensive talks with Troyes, they were left getting back on a plane with no deal.

Frank had taken time out between training sessions to make the trip, and on the journey home the jet battled snow, thunder and lightning before landing again safely in London, with no Mbeumo to show for it.

Days later, there was a call back to Brentford saying there was a deal to be done – and the west London club landed a player who had been tracked by PSG and Man City for just €5m (£4.2m).

Dykes once told a club media article: “Brentford fans must know that I risked my life to sign Bryan Mbeumo!” And it was worth it.

He is not the first gem Brentford have refined into a Premier League star either and – after Ivan Toney and David Raya – he does appear to be next one on the cab rank ready for the journey to a top club.

The forward is having another sterling start to a season and continues to be tracked by Liverpool and Newcastle, among others. “I’m convinced one day he’ll play for a bigger club. I’d definitely buy him if I were at a bigger club,” Frank said.

It looks like a good prediction. Eight goals in the opening nine Premier League games is an electric start. The 25-year-old is the only player remotely close to Erling Haaland’s tally of 12 in the Premier League so far.

Yet Mbeumo actually betters Haaland in some departments, with the Brentford forward having a better conversion rate than any other player in the division who has had at least three shots this season.

The Cameroon international is clearly overperforming in front of goal, given his Expected Goals (xG) total is currently 3.64 – the difference of 4.36 being the highest in the Premier League so far.

His phenomenal start could have been even better too, with Mbeumo having an Expected Assists (xA) tally of 2.46 – the sixth-highest in the division – yet he is still to get off the mark in successfully setting up a team-mate for a goal.

The numbers Mbeumo is producing are testament to the talent-spotting abilities of Dykes and his recruitment team, and the skills of Frank and his staff to develop players.

Part of the reason they raced to France on that electric August day was the interest from top clubs, especially in France, to get Mbeumo for themselves. The speed with which they pounced sent shockwaves through Ligue 1, according to French sources at the time.

The frustration was compounded by Mbeumo’s first season in west London. The forward racked up 17 goals and nine assists in the Championship – even though he failed to start the opening nine matches.

Fast forward five years and Mbeumo is now Brentford’s top Premier League scorer since their competition debut in the summer of 2021, ahead of the recently-departed Toney. Another goal for Mbeumo in Monday night’s west London derby at Fulham and he will equal his best scoring season in the Premier League already, with 28 matches to spare.

Whether this turns out to be his last season at the club or not, his talismanic status in the squad is well established, with Frank admitting Mbeumo’s four-month ankle injury last December was more harmful than Toney’s 10-month ban.

Mbeumo had stepped up to fill Toney’s shoes last season, with seven goals in 15 games at the start of 2023-24. The 10 defeats in the 13 games he subsequently missed was no coincidence.

With Toney now gone, Mbeumo is arguably the big hit at Brentford and he could yet fire them to another top-half finish this term.

Yoane Wissa, who has five goals in six league matches this season, is another who has stepped up to the plate. Mbeumo and Wissa are close friends, and even live next door to each other. Their partnership is crucial to Brentford having the third-biggest goal tally in the Premier League this season, behind City and Chelsea.

More recent signings Kevin Schade, Gustavo Nunes and Keane Lewis-Potter are also improving all the time, putting the club in a more assured position to push on when Mbeumo and/or Wissa finally leave.

For now Mbeumo is firmly in the spotlight following his comments earlier this week that he is looking to move to a bigger club in the not-too-distant future – and so is Brentford’s continued status as one of the smartest recruiters around.