Tottenham Hotspur have identified Brentford star Bryan Mbeumo as their No. 1 transfer target to begin the summer window, as Thomas Frank and the 20-goal right winger forged a great working relationship en route to Mbeumo's status as one of the biggest breakout stars in English football last season.
However, Tottenham have significant competition for Mbeumo from Manchester United. Spurs recently received encouraging news on the Mbeumo front that makes it clear they have a legitimate chance at signing the top-class Premier League right winger, but they can't be considered the favorites just yet.
Manchester United may be the most concretely linked competitors to Mbeumo, but they aren't the only notable suitors for the Brentford star. According to a report from BBC Sport's Sami Mokbel, there are also Champions League clubs, besides Tottenham, interested in signing the player.
Bryan Mbeumo can succeed at almost any Champions League club
Although Manchester United may be the main team Tottenham are competing with for Mbeumo right now, there are bigger suitors than them in this race. Mokbel hasn't named them, but perhaps clubs like Juventus, Bayern Munich, and other historic franchises in European football that are Champions League mainstays are after Mbeumo.
They should be. A player scoring 20 goals with 7 assists as an all-around star for Brentford in the Premier League is a massive deal, and anyone who watches Mbeumo can tell that he is a fully legitimate talent entering the prime years of his career. He is no fluke as an athlete or footballer.
Therefore, Tottenham need to do what they can to sign him and keep him united with Frank, the coach who helped all of this happen. Mbeumo can shine pretty much anywhere in the Premier League, but he could also be an asset for more successful clubs than Manchester United and Tottenham abroad, and Spurs supporters can't underestimate the potential for a suitor from another big European league to suddenly swoop in and steal him.
Tottenham are on the right track with Mbeumo, and he's the best possible player Spurs could realistically sign to their attack this summer. But he's so good that he could help more established Champions League clubs, too, and Tottenham would be wise to do what they can to reasonably close this transfer out with Brentford before bigger competitors than the team they beat in the Europa League Final, Manchester United, get involved in the Mbeumo transfer sweepstakes this summer transfer window.