Although Tottenham fans have been severely bummed out these past few days after getting their hopes up that Europa League-winning manager Ange Postecoglou would stay at the club after his historic achievement, only to watch him get canned, there is optimism around expected new hire Thomas Frank.
A large part of that optimism has to do with the kinds of players Tottenham fans are hoping Frank can bring with him from Brentford. The main gem they are hoping for is 25-year-old right winger Bryan Mbeumo, but striker Yoane Wissa and center back Nathan Collins are two other key players from the 2024/25 Bees squad that could potentially help Spurs in 2025/26.
Mbeumo has been on Tottenham's transfer radar, but the 20-goal, 7-assist winger has chosen Europa League losers Manchester United over Spurs. However, with Frank set to come in as Postecoglou's replacement, there's been hope from Tottenham fans that he can change Mbeumo's mind.
For that to happen, though, Daniel Levy and Tottenham will have to sanction spending as much on wages and a transfer fee to Brentford as what Manchester United are willing to pay, and that should leave even the most hopeful of Tottenham fans a bit pessimistic.
Tottenham's biggest dream target isn't realistic at this point
Now, per a report from Mike Keegan and Matt Barlow of the Daily Mail, despite the recent reports and optimism from Spurs supporters, it's actually "highly unlikely" that Tottenham enter the transfer battle from Mbeumo at this stage and attempt to hijack an expected transfer from Brentford to Manchester United.
It's just one report and clearly not the end-all, be-all with regards to the Mbeumo transfer rumors, but it is a disappointing blow and one that seems like the most realistic outcome, looking at the financial details of Mbeumo's potential move to Man United and the fact that no Spurs player makes 10 million pounds in wages.
Mbeumo is likely headed to Manchester United, and Tottenham are either going to have to look hard at alternative wing options in the Premier League like Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo or stick to a platoon of Dejan Kulusevski and Europa League Final hero Brennan Johnson, who scored a team-high 11 goals in the Premier League last season, as their main options on the right wing.
It's not over with regards to Mbeumo, but it was always a bit hopeful and more than a tad bit unrealistic to expect Frank to be a great equalizer who convinces Tottenham to spend and Mbeumo to scrap his apparent desired move to Old Trafford.