Bryan Mbeumo emulated Mbappe as a teen, now he can raise the standards at Man Utd like Cristiano Ronaldo did

BRYAN MBEUMO has been backed to do something not even Cristiano Ronaldo could — raise the standards at Man Utd.

The Cameroonian winger arrived at Old Trafford last month for £71m with more than just goals in his locker.

From the small town of Avallon in France where he was born to joining the Red Devils on one of football’s biggest stages, there’s been one constant in Mbeumo’s rise — he makes those around him better.

Professional, meticulous and relentless, it’s what carried him from the shadows at Troyes to Premier League stardom and now to United.

When Ronaldo returned to Old Trafford he was shocked at how the club had stagnated since his first spell under Sir Alex Ferguson.

Despite his efforts to raise the bar — with team-mates even shunning desserts to match his work ethic — he left under a cloud in 2022.

Man Utd have fallen even further since, with an embarrassing 15th-place finish last season seeing them plunge to the lowest point since they were last relegated.

But Mbeumo can help the club return to better days, according to childhood best friend and former Troyes team-mate Franck Momo.

In an exclusive interview he told SunSport “Believe me, Bryan will have a big impact in that dressing room.

“He hates to lose so much it’s crazy. In the beginning he’ll be shy, but once the season goes on, his personality and professionalism will shine. His teammates will follow his lead.”

When Mbeumo joined Troyes at just 14, he wasn’t the flashiest or most talked-about kid in the group.

But even then, he understood that talent alone wouldn’t take him all the way and that to succeed and to climb the precarious ladder of top level football – you needed to have grit too.

Franck said: “He was with the 1999 age group, I was two years older but one thing was certain he wasn’t the best player on paper.

“I remember the first time when he was promoted to come and play with us in the reserves team and I asked the coach why Bryan and not the others. I got a simple answer.

“He told me, ‘Bryan’s the most efficient. He knows his strengths and works on them every day.’”

The first time anyone outside of France heard of Mbeumo was when he netted twice at the Coupe Gambardella final, France’s version of the FA Youth Cup, to guide Troyes to their first trophy in 62 years.

The last player to hit a double in that final was a certain Kylian Mbappe. Mbeumo’s first goal, a thunderous volley, had shades of Robin van Persie. The second sealed a 2-1 win and gave birth to his first ever professional contract.

He hates to lose so much it’s crazy. In the beginning he’ll be shy, but once the season goes on, his personality and professionalism will shine.

Franck Momo

Franck remembered: “That was the moment everything clicked for him.

“You know when you’re in an academy working hard and sometimes get to play with your seniors but then in an important game something remarkable happens, that was it for him.

“The dream and to get his contract and all that was just amazing. That was it for Bryan.”

He’d already made his Ligue 1 debut and played a few games, but Troyes got relegated that season.

There was a silver lining for Mbeumo.

With big earners gone to balance the books, he became a regular. He played 40 games in Ligue 2, scored 11 goals, and caught the eye of PSG, Monaco, and Lens.

They all showed concrete interest in him but he chose to move out of the country of his birth and sign for Championship side Brentford.

Franck says: “Looking back now, it’s like he knew what he was doing.

“He’s made it to Man United now but at the time, going from Ligue 2 to the Championship, it didn’t make sense to most people.

“Like think about it, he could have gone and still be in France but he just decided, this is where I want to be.”

At Brentford, the story continued, same Mbeumo, same upward curve. His debut season, with 16 goals in 47 games, helped the Bees to the play-off final, where they lost 2-1 to Fulham.

The next season, with Ivan Toney arriving, Mbeumo adapted his role and this time Brentford won promotion, beating Swansea at Wembley.

In his Premier League debut season, aged 22, Mbeumo scored eight goals in 38 appearances and could have had more had he not hit the woodwork seven times.

He even bagged a hat-trick in the FA Cup against Port Vale. But few knew the personal sacrifice behind the scenes.

Franck revealed: “He moved to England alone. His mum came later but that first year was tough, Covid restrictions, isolation. It was just him and his video games.

He trains like it’s a match so it’s easy to see how far players like that can go, they put in so much effort in their work.

Cameroon boss, Emmanuel Buddy Mbang Kollo

“He loves video games, honestly, if he wasn’t a footballer, he’d be a gamer. He’d spend hours on the pad, it was annoying sometimes, but that’s Bryan.”

His study rise did not go unnoticed in Cameroon – where his father is from – and they tried to get him to play for them at Afcon.

So much so that Samuel Eto’o, legend-turned-president of the Cameroonian FA, made getting Mbeumo to play for them his mission.

Cameroon’s national team manager Emmanuel Buddy Mbang Kollo recalls the journey of getting Mbeumo to play for the Indomitable Lions. He says: “We tried to get him for the last Afcon in 2022.

“To be honest I think he was first thinking about playing for the France national team but we kept on trying.

“I think our encouragement came from the fact he used to come to Cameroon every year so we just kept on knocking.

“Once Eto’o spoke to him, we knew we had him. Since he came in I have to say he’s been excellent.

“The energy he brings to the squad is priceless and unlike players that we mostly have come from Europe he’s just come in and embrace the culture and setting the standards.

“He trains like it’s a match so it’s easy to see how far players like that can go, they put in so much effort in their work.

At Brentford, his teammate Yoane Wissa described him as a top player in an exclusive interview with SunSport last season.

He also hinted how United players will enjoy having him at the club, saying: “He’s a top player and that makes my job easy.

“We’ve played together for years. I know where to be and I know he’ll find me.”

Since Sir Alex left in 2013, Man Utd haven’t won a title, have suffered turmoil on and off the pitch, and their transfer business has been ridiculed.

But one thing they’re doing right is buying players like Mbeumo – someone who brings the qualities of hunger, humility, and hard graft.

That is a good start.