Bryan Mbeumo says he is excited about linking up with Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes as he prepares for life at Old Trafford following his move from Brentford.
After weeks of drawn-out talks, the 25-year-old finally joined United last week for £65mn ($87mn) plus a potential £6mn in add-ons.
The Cameroon winger, who scored 20 goals and provided seven assists for Brentford in the Premier League last season, has signed a five-year deal with United, becoming their third signing of the summer transfer window.
Mbeumo said that Fernandes was the player he was most looking forward to playing with. "Everyone sees in the past years, he can shoot, he can cross, he can do crazy ball," he said. "Yeah, for a striker, you just enjoy that."
Mbeumo is hoping to benefit from the experience of the Portuguese midfielder, who said last month he had rejected a huge offer from Saudi Arabia to stay at United despite their struggles last season. "On the pitch, when you're smart like he is, I think you don't even need to think a lot," he said. "You just need to make the run and he's going to play you in the right space every time. But of course, you can have a little discussion to make him know how I prefer the balls and how I'm feeling the best to have the ball. But at a certain point, there is only one way, even if it's not the one you like, you have to do the run and he's going to put the ball in a good position."
Mbeumo's arrival follows the signings of Wolves forward Matheus Cunha and Paraguay left-back Diego Leon, from Cerro Porteno. United have recently been linked with Ollie Watkins – RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko is also a reported target – and Mbeumo described his former Brentford teammate as the "complete striker".
Mbeumo said of Watkins: "He's like a complete striker. He can do a lot of things."
Amorim is the right man for Man Utd, says Ugarte
Meanwhile, midfielder Manuel Ugarte said finishing 15th in the Premier League was nowhere near good enough for Manchester United last season but the players still have faith in manager Ruben Amorim, Amorim took charge of United in November last year but guided them to just seven wins in 27 league matches and their worst-ever finish in the Premier League.
They also failed to qualify for the Champions League as they lost the Europa League final 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur. "We have to improve things," Ugarte told British media. "We are all very motivated, because we believe in the coach, we believe in what he wants and that is very important," added the Uruguayan, who also played under Amorim at Sporting. Last year we made some changes, we changed our coach, we changed our formation. You have to have responsibilities when you play for United. Sometimes the connections take time to get to know each other. I already know the league, the rivals, which is important."
United will play two pre-season matches in the US, taking on Bournemouth in Chicago today and facing Everton in Atlanta on Sunday, before returning home to face Fiorentina at Old Trafford on August 9. They begin the new Premier League season against Arsenal on August 17.
