Bryan Mbeumo has been playing chess long enough to know that the best moves often take time. So as Manchester United and Brentford reached an acrimonious stalemate over his £71million transfer to Old Trafford this summer, the Cameroon star kept his cool and bided his time.
Mbeumo went away on holiday where he met United defender Leny Yoro by chance. He took calls from his international teammate Andre Onana urging him to join the United goalkeeper in Manchester.
He kept up the chess and indulged in his other favourite pastime, playing the piano. It’s fair to say Mbeumo is not your average footballer.
Strangely for a man who is comfortable performing in front of tens of thousands of fans inside a stadium and a worldwide TV audience, he is shy to sit down and play the piano even for a few close friends.
‘It’s funny, but it’s so different,’ he says. ‘The thing is, I don’t really like to play in front of people. Even if I play in front of a couple of friends at home, I’m not exactly shaking, but it’s “oh guys, this is kind of hard for me”.
‘The piano is nothing really linked to football. It just makes me take time for me and relax myself in my free time.’
Mbeumo doesn’t flaunt his chess skills either, playing online anonymously. ‘I have a username,’ he says. ‘You choose a nickname and just play against random people online, and I use my own chessboard against them. I’m not that crazy good. But if you know the rating, I’m like 800 on chess.com.
‘There was a one period where I was really into it. I was watching videos on YouTube and training on the app. I watched Queen’s Gambit, it was really good. I’ve not watched the Magnus Carlson thing (documentary) yet. Maybe I should.
‘I’ve been told that Josh (Zirkzee) plays, so I might need to play against him and bring in the chessboard.
‘I think even for the brain, it’s really, really good. You can develop new skills. Obviously, you’re doing football most of the time, every day, so you sometimes you don’t really have time to develop on other skills. I like creativity and stuff.
‘But chess, even if it’s not physical, there is a lot of thought. When you play football, you have to think as well. Playing chess, you can see some moves ahead because it is a strategy game. In football, you have your strategy as well so you can link them together.’
Relaxing in the swanky Waldorf Astoria hotel on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, Mbeumo looks every inch a United player.
He has yet to make his debut for the club, but that could come in the final game of the US tour against Everton in Atlanta this weekend.
In the meantime, Mbeumo continues to play catch-up in his pre-season preparation, working with his new teammates an doing sprint work with some of the younger players at Chicago Fire’s impressive training facility.
There were times this summer when a place in Ruben Amorim’s squad seemed far from guaranteed, however. When United and Brentford were locked in their own game of chess, and Mbeumo’s old boss Thomas Frank tried to sign him for Tottenham.
The boyhood United fan made it clear there was only one club he wanted, and a deal worth £65m plus £6m in add-ons was eventually struck. Even then, United accused Brentford of trying to push Mbeumo towards Spurs, and Brentford blamed United for trying to lowball them with two unsuccessful opening offers.
All the while, the 25-year-old kept stayed calm on holiday and then asked to stick to gym work on his return to the West London club, which explains why he is still behind in his fitness programme.
‘I trust my people and I was convinced that it was going to happen,’ says Mbeumo. ‘I always trust my people around me. The transfer window can be long, it can be short, so you have be patient and just try to keep thinking positively about things.
‘I was obviously on my holidays so I just wanted to think about resting mentally and physically. If it was going to happen, it was going to happen.
‘I think I’m someone who likes a challenge. There is a very good project in Manchester, and I wanted to be part of it.
‘You want to play on the greatest stages in the world and Old Trafford is one of them. So being able to play there every two weeks is just big.
‘Of course, I spoke to some other managers because I wanted to hear their projects, but the Manchester United one was very good for me.
‘I’ve spoken with Ruben. It was a very friendly conversation and a constructive one. He explained his project to me, what he wanted to do, and I really clicked with that.
‘He said “we are people who like winning and we want to be the best team”. Of course, that’s what we will try to do.’
Like United’s other big summer signing, Matheus Cunha, Mbeumo met Amorim’s criteria of having played in the Premier League. In fact, over the past three seasons, only Erling Haaland, Mo Salah Alexander Isak and Ollie Watkins have scored more league goals than Mbeumo, an achievement that is all the more impressive because predominantly he has played off the right wing and for a Brentford side punching well above their weight.
He is set to fill a similar role as one of two No.10s in Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 system, but is ready to play anywhere – including as a striker if needed as United weigh up another move into the transfer market for a centre-forward.
‘I think now, in football, you have to be adaptable and be able to play in a few other positions than what you’d say is your best,’ he adds.
‘Obviously I’ve played as a winger mainly at Brentford, but I don’t have one specific position where I feel I can do the best. With Brentford, I used to also play as a No.10 in the pocket or even as a No.9. I can play all those positions. Whatever position the gaffer wants to put me out, I will play there.
‘I always want to be better than I was yesterday. I’m very demanding of myself and I always try to do the best. I don’t like to put limits on myself as well.’
