Signed for £5m and sold for £60m? Mbeumo could become another Brentford success story | OneFootball

Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo has reportedly chosen Manchester United as his preferred destination, with the Red Devils now keen to wrap up a deal for the forward.

If he leaves, he would become the latest in a long line of talent to leave Brentford, who continue to make a profit by developing and then selling players.

Here are some of the other stars Brentford have moved on for big fees…

BMW

Said Benrahma and Ollie Watkins (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images) via ONE FOOTBALL

Mbeumo has been at Brentford since 2019, when he joined for a reported £5.4m from French club Troyes, and was part of the famous ‘BMW’ trio that included himself, Saïd Benrahma and Ollie Watkins which led Brentford to the Championship play-off final in 2020, before eventually losing to Fulham. United fans will be hoping that Mbeumo can perform more like Watkins rather than Benrahma in the Premier League if he arrives though.

Benrahma departed for West Ham on an initial season long loan in 2020 before the transfer became permanent in 2021 for £25 million, with Brentford having signed him a for a fee of £2.7 million.

The Algerian international was perhaps the most touted for success at the time, having scored 17 goals for the Bees that season. He never quite hit the heights as a West Ham player, though, scoring just 15 league goals in four seasons at the club before leaving for Lyon.

Watkins also left Brentford in the summer of 2020, going to Aston Villa for £33 million having been signed by the Bees for just £1.8m. Despite the occasional goal drought, he has been extremely impressive overall. He scored 14 goals in his debut season, earning the club’s top goalscorer accolade.

In the 23/24 season, he won the Premier League Playmaker of the Season award for the most assists of the season, with 13, and this past season became Villa’s record goalscorer in the Premier League.

Ivan Toney

Ivan Toney playing for Al Hilal (Photo by Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images) via ONE FOOTBALL

Watkins’ replacement at Brentford was Ivan Toney, who was signed from Peterborough for £6m. After success in both the Championship and Premier League playing alongside Mbeumo, Toney became Brentford’s record sale when he joined Saudi Pro league club Al Hilal last summer for a reported £40 million.

Gauging Toney’s success may be tricky due to the difference in quality between the Premier League and Saudi Pro League, but he did score 23 times in 30 appearances for the club. He has also done well enough to earn a place in Thomas Tuchel’s most recent England squad.

Neal Maupay

Neal Maupay at Brighton (Photo by Henry Browne/Getty Images) via ONE FOOTBALL

Before Toney, before Watkins, there was Maupay. He was the first of the Brentford striker success stories, signing from Saint-Etienne for £1.6m. He was the EFL player of the year in 2019, scoring 28 goals in 49 appearances and left for Brighton the following summer for £20 million.

Despite being somewhat of a cult figure for the Seagulls he never quite delievered. He was a respectable Premier League striker but became perhaps more notable for his Twitter antics rather than his performances on the pitch.

David Raya

Raya is arguably the most successful Brentford player sale having established himself as one the league’s best goalkeepers at Arsenal. Mikel Arteta pushed to sign him despite already having the dependable Aaron Ramsdale in place, and the £30 million Arsenal spent on him has proven to be money well-spent, having won the Golden Glove award this season. He signed for Brentford for £3 million.

Other notable players

Ezri Konsa has excelled for Aston Villa since leaving Brentford in 2019 for £12 million, becoming a stalwart at the heart of their defence and has played 11 times for England. He originally joined Brentford from Charlton for £2.5 million.

In January that year, they also sold Chris Mepham to Bournemouth for £12 million, having joined Brentford on a free transfer. He turned into a reliable squad player for the Cherries and went on loan to Sunderland last season and helped them gain promotion to the Premier League.

Back in the 2015/16 season, the Bees also sold Andre Gray to Burnley for a sizable sum of £9 million, who was bought for £1.1 million from Luton Town. A year later they recorded another big striker sale by letting Scott Hogan go to Aston Villa for £12 million, who was signed for £750,000 from Rochdale.