Bryan Mbeumo delay leaves Manchester United facing up to £65m transfer reality

And so the wait goes on.

Manchester United want to sign Bryan Mbeumo and the Brentford forward wants to move to Old Trafford. But after two bids were rejected by the Bees, the waiting game continues.

United are confident the deal will get done but will want to make sure their third bid, as and when it arrives, is successful.

The Cameroon international is their number one target and, together with Matheus Cunha, will form a formidable attacking midfield duo behind United's forward in Ruben Amorim's 3-4-2-1 formation.

But who that forward will be remains unknown and the Mbeumo situation is undoubtedly affecting United's search for a new striker.

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So, too, is the fact United are keen to offload players to offset any further transfer deals beyond the Mbeumo deal. Marcus Rashford, Antony, Jadon Sancho, Alejandro Garnacho and Tyrell Malacia have all told United they want to leave the club and they are keen to earn some money from their sales.

But until those two things happen, United's transfer window remains in stasis.

United's major priority this summer was to solve last season's goalscoring woes. The arrivals of Cunha and Mbeumo, who scored 37 goals between them last season, will certainly help that but they need a proven goalscorer up front given Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee managed just seven league goals between them last term.

The issue is, while United are throwing money behind the Mbeumo deal and waiting for sales to help fund their future transfer business, the forward market is moving without them.

United were ready to move