Rio Ferdinand: Man Utd are going to sign a "dynamic, quick, aggressive" gem with a work ethic of the "highest order"

Manchester United have reached an agreement with Premier League rivals Brentford to sign Bryan Mbeumo in a deal worth up to £71m.

The Cameroon international has been one of the Red Devils’ top targets this window with the Old Trafford making a third offer for the player on Thursday. That has since been accepting by the West London club with a medical expected to take place over the weekend.

After weeks and weeks of talks, United are keen to get the deal over the line swiftly. There was no real threat of the transfer being hijacked as Mbeumo had agreed weeks ago to make the move to Manchester despite interest from other clubs within the Premier League.

What Bryan Mbeumo will add to Man Utd

He scored 20 goals and provided seven assists for Brentford in the Premier League last campaign. Scoring goals was a big problem for Ruben Amorim’s side last term. Of the 17 teams who stayed up, only Everton scored fewer goals.

Mbeumo will provide that goal threat along with the creativity. It remains to be seen if the Red Devils will be able to afford a new striker. A lack of European football means United can only afford deals for Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha.

Other incomings are possible but will be heavily reliant on player sales to fund further transfers. Mbeumo turns 26 next month and is heading into the prime of his career. He has 121 goal involvements in 242 games for Brentford.

Amorim has a rigid tactical system and has been aiming to add players who can thrive in his formation. Cunha and Mbeumo are both expected to play in the number 10 roles. However, Mbeumo does offer some versatility.

Rio Ferdinand raves about Man Utd deal for Bryan Mbeumo

Speaking on his YouTube channel, ex-United defender Rio Ferdinand was delighted with the news of Mbeumo’s pending arrival. He said the player has the “dynamic, quick and aggressive” attributes United have been looking for and also hailed the forward’s work ethic.

Ferdinand said: “The kid knows where the goal is. And I think, like I said at the beginning of this, I think Man United have been looking for somebody who's dynamic, who's quick, who's aggressive, can play with and without the ball, right, and can get us up the pitch.

“So if we're on a halfway line, penned back a little bit, can we get a player who can get us to their goal, to get us to their edge of their box quick, with one pass, with one run? Yes, he's shown he can do that.

“So I look at that and I think, well, I love all that, as much as I love that, he's got Premier League experience. We're not buying someone who's done a great job somewhere else and you're still going, you know, can he do it in the Premier League? He's done it in the Premier League for a couple of seasons now and that, I think, bodes well as well.

“He'll need a transitional period into the squad, I know, but I hope the pre-season allows for that and he hits the ground running.

“We're going to need him to hit the ground running, him and Cunha I think another big factor is his versatility.

“We've seen him play all across the front line for Brentford and he's been impactful in all those positions, left, right, through the central areas as a striker and I think that's exactly what Ruben Amorim will want.

“He'll want players that can be kind of not just stuck down to one position because there's injuries, there's loss of form, there's tactically different shapes and different positions for players to play.

He added: “I know a couple of guys that have trained with him in the season, outside of the club, and said that his attention to detail, his work ethic, taking care of himself is of the highest order.