Former Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott claims Manchester United didn't need to sign Matheus Cunha. But Bryan Mbeumo will be pivotal for Ruben Amorim and will enjoy a better season.
With just one win this campaign and a 3-0 embarrassment in the Manchester derby behind him, Red Devils head coach Amorim has seen enormous amounts of pressure begin to mount. The Portuguese manager was backed over the summer and was given a new striker in £74million man Benjamin Sesko, as well as two of the Premier League's most revered forwards in Mbeumo and Cunha.
The Cameroon international starred for Brentford and set United back an initial £65m, whilst Cunha cost £62.5m from Wolves. The Brazilian is currently nursing a hamstring injury, but Lescott thinks he's a player United could have done without.
Mbeumo, on the other hand, is a star the ex-City centre-half believes could be a difference-maker this season and must play weekly. He also tipped the 26-year-old to have a better and more influential season than team-mate Cunha.
"I reckon Mbeumo has a more impactful season than Cunha," said Lescott, speaking on In The Mixer, brought to you by Sky Bet. "They don't need [a player like Cunha].
"They're trying to build, or probably rebuild now, by buying second-tier or third-tier players and creating the foundations that get you there.
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"Mbeumo is more of a foundational piece to their puzzle than Cunha. They're now a mid-table team, not a mid-table club, and Mbeumo needs to play."
Speaking about Mbeumo's hefty total £71m fee, he added: "This might be a way to explain what I believe, how you value players. Their value shouldn't be value to both parties. It only has to be that value to one entity, whether it's United or whether it is Brentford.
"I'll use, say, Jack Grealish as an example, or even Harry Maguire. When Jack Grealish was leaving Aston Villa, he was worth more than £100m to Aston Villa. Because if he's not there, they go down.
"He may not be worth £100m to Man City, or whatever, and Mbeumo may not be worth £64m to Brentford, but he's worth that to Man United. To them, he needs to play and they do well, and so for me, that's the value."
Mbeumo has started all of United's first four league games this season, scoring just one goal. His penalty miss saw them exit the Carabao Cup. Cunha has also played a starring role and missed a spot kick in the Grimsby Town defeat, but was substituted during their 3-2 win over Burnley with a hamstring issue.
Whether he will be fit for their next fixture against Chelsea is unknown, but Amorim suggested he won't be on the sidelines for much longer and could return for Saturday evening.
Speaking after the loss to City, he said: "If you talk with Cunha, if you catch Cunha outside, he will say he can play this game [vs City]! So I don't know. We will manage day by day, but they are pushing hard, and that is a good thing."
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