Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo update accidentally told Manchester United what they needed to hear

"From what I understand, if needs be, he's happy to stay at Brentford next year as well, so listen, let's see on that. I think our position is he had an unbelievable season last year and we expected interest in him. If that deal is right, then there's a deal to do, but if not, then he'll stay."

When Brentford's sporting director, Phil Giles, sat down to offer an update on Bryan Mbeumo's situation, it's clear he was keen to stress that the Cameroon international would be happy to remain at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Mbeumo's desire to move to Manchester United has been well documented, and so Giles' update focused more on the player's mindset should an agreement between the two clubs not be reached. And United should be encouraged by the update.

Far too often, we see examples of players taking matters into their own hands and attempting to force a move away from a club.

Take Antony, for example. He is by no means the only player to have adopted such a strategy, but his refusal to train or play for Ajax prior to his move to United in 2022 was a red flag before he had even stepped foot inside Old Trafford.

United were said to have been impressed by the "attitude" Antony had shown to sign for the club, but there was nothing impressive about it.

He would apologise just days later, insisting he was sorry if he had "failed" the fans. Attitude is as important as ability when it comes to representing a club of United's stature, and you can tell a lot about a player from the manner of their exit from a club.

Antony may have forced his way out of Ajax but he has shown little to suggest he has what it takes to force his way back into United's plans and he is on the club's list of priority sales this summer.

It would be remiss to