Who Is Bryan Mbeumo?
Newly-promoted Brentford have got off to a strong start in the Premier League, taking eight points from their first five games.
Whilst Ivan Toney, Rico Henry, Pontus Jansson, and the new Celtic signing Kristoffer Ajer have rightly been receiving praise for their performances in England’s top division so far, Bryan Mbeumo is perhaps a name that has flown under the radar thus far.
Mbeumo, who only turned 22 last month, has been a permanent source of energy and flair in the Bees’ front line.
He has been with Brentford since the beginning of the 2019/20 season, signing for £5.8 million from French side Troyes.
His impact was immediate.
He notched 16 goals and made 7 assists in his debut Championship season, and last season he scored 8 goals and had 10 assists in the league, too.
While he has yet to grab an assist this season, he has started the campaign on good form, with one Premier League goal and one in the EFL Cup.
Given his impressive performances over the past two seasons, many sides across Europe will closely monitor how he adapts to life in the Premier League this season —and with good reason.
This tactical analysis and scout report will examine Mbeumo’s key attributes as a player and provide insight into how he fits into Thomas Frank tactics.
Bryan Mbeumo Style of Play & Movement
Bryan Mbeumo may line up as part of a front two, but that position is too restrictive for where he actually influences play.
Bryan Mbeumo’s style of play enjoys having the freedom to move away from the front line.
His heat map from last season illustrates his range of positioning throughout a game.
An example of this is shown in the image below from the Wolves game, where Mbeumo moves from a starting position in Brentford’s front line to present an option for the defence looking to play out.
Only three Brentford players are clearly deeper than him on the pitch as he receives.
Moving so deep from a high starting position, Mbeumo can evade tight marking and plays immediately to the wing off a one-touch pass.
The space left open in Brentford’s midfield allows him to not only drop into this space, but it also provides plenty of options for him as to where he may choose to drop.
He doesn’t forget his responsibilities further up the pitch, though.
Moments after receiving in midfield and playing out wide, Mbeumo is already pushing forward through the central channel, looking to hit the space between the opposition centre-backs, and is arguably already an option for a through pass.
Mbeumo is an intelligent mover and clearly understands his role within Thomas Frank’s possession-based system.
He is a constant option for Brentford to play between the lines.
Mbeumo regularly positions himself in spaces where he can receive, and Brentford can break lines with.
His movements in these areas are well-timed, though, and he doesn’t simply linger in these spaces.
He starts high, even higher than Toney at times, but has an excellent turn of pace where he will burst away from his marker and into these spaces.
He will react to the ball’s positioning and recognise triggers in Brentford’s build-up play to begin his movement.
One of these is a lateral pass from one teammate to another, in which the new ball carrier faces the opposition goal and has possession in the same channel as Mbeumo.
The French attacker will then drop into the half-space as soon as the pass is played, receiving the ball between the lines, preferably on the half-turn.
We can see this pattern occurring in the following image.
Further forward, Mbeumo engages in the kind of movement you would expect from a centre-forward playing alongside someone with Toney’s attributes.
Toney is strong, with an impressive frame, and as such, provides an excellent target alongside many other excellent attributes.
Any pass into his strike partner, and Mbeumo is ready to provide an option.
He varies his approach, potentially dropping nearby where Toney can find him with a short pass away from the goal or engaging in a quick combination with one another.
However, Mbeumo has good acceleration and an impressive top speed.
As a result, he can also be a threat in behind.
If Toney can draw a centre-back forward as he receives possession, Mbeumo quickly recognises this and will move diagonally in behind, filling the space behind this centre-back.
This can be particularly devastating if Toney finds a nearby central midfielder who can instantly play in behind.
Still, Toney also has the individual flair in possession to conjure a pass in behind, even from a position like the one shown below.
Equally, Mbeumo will explore spaces along the width of the front line.
He positions himself again where he can’t be tightly marked, placing himself between two defenders.
Looking at the following image, Mbeumo may start on the blindside of the far side of the two defenders.
He will then look to make a late movement between the two, looking to play off the shoulder of the near-side defender.
It’s a lot of movement to make in a short space of time, but Mbeumo’s timing is perfect.
This clever movement to avoid being tracked, along with his timing and pace, make Mbeumo a legitimate threat in behind if he can be found with a through pass.
Bryan Mbeumo On-ball qualities
Mbeumo is a technical player with an exceptional first touch.
He can receive on either foot but greatly prefers to do his work with his favoured left foot.
Mbeumo can play off of one-touch but possesses a maturity in possession that belies his age.
He reads the space around him well, scanning and using his peripheral vision to assess the immediacy of any pressure while looking for a passing option.
He is comfortable holding the ball up, but can be outmuscled, particularly if he assumes a flat body position while receiving.
His best work comes when using his dribbling ability to hold up play.
He will take many small touches when holding the ball up, keeping an upright body position whilst changing direction if pressured by a defender.
So far this season, he has a 58.3% completion rate on his 3.6 dribbles per 90 minutes.
Further forward, he can hold up possession, too, and will use his awareness to release players through tight gaps despite being in a less-than-advantageous position.
He uses ingenuity and innovation in his passing to find teammates under heavy pressure.
Such an example can be seen in the following image from Brentford’s recent fixture against Brighton.
Having drawn two defenders over towards him, Mbeumo is holding up possession, albeit in a poor position.
He is facing the edge of the pitch with little room to manoeuvre.
Without scanning, Mbeumo sees his teammates running behind him and plays a back-heeled pass through the gap.
Mbeumo can be an instrumental player in attacking transition.
Brentford keep their attackers close to their midfield in the defensive phase.
As such, Mbeumo can recover the ball himself, pinching it away from opposition midfielders in front of him and making a late, well-timed move to dispossess them from the blindside.
Upon regaining the ball, Mbeumo is direct and fast.
He can quickly progress the ball and begin a counter-attack.
He is confident driving forward on the ball and is a competent ball carrier, but he can also show quality with his forward passing on quick breaks.
Even if he doesn’t recover the ball himself, he is immediately a passing option in attacking transition, such is his proximity to the loss of the ball and his ability to receive under pressure.
He does have a bad habit of giving up possession too cheaply on occasion in transition, though.
These incidents occur specifically when Mbeumo receives the ball in a deeper area, often inside his own half and close to the wide channel.
Mbeumo can look to receive on the half-turn despite being marked tightly.
For a player who shows outstanding awareness, this is a puzzlingly poor habit of his.
Brighton Final third work
On the business side, Mbeumo possesses many strong traits; however, he needs to improve his clinical skills.
This was evident last season when his 10 assists disguised his eight goals, which was a sub-standard return in front of goal for a player of Mbeumo’s quality.
He vastly overperformed his 12.02 xG in his first season at Brentford, but has underperformed minimally since then.
He often looks to break the net with his finishing, opting for power even when he tries to shape the ball toward goal.
This often leads him to strike the ball in the air.
Seeing Mbeumo blaze an excellent opportunity over the bar is all too common an outcome.
He can, nevertheless, forge a chance for himself through his dribbling ability.
Mbeumo can shift the ball from one foot to the other with lightning-quick speed.
Inside the area, he may look to draw the tackle of an opponent before making a late switch from his right to his favoured left, cutting inside and firing a shot away through a crowded area.
Even if he can be wasteful, Mbeumo’s movement is once more impressive inside the area.
This was evident from his goal against Wolves, in which the French forward made an initial movement towards the front post.
He will use this misdirection to simply draw his marker away from the area Mbeumo intends to attack.
He actually made this movement twice, checking his run initially and preventing himself from going too early.
However, he was still able to hit the space towards the back post, receiving the ball across goal and finishing unmarked in this space.
Conclusion
As this Bryan Mbeumo analysis has shown, he is in the right place at the right time for his development.
He was ready to step up a level, showing quality consistently throughout his time in the Championship with Brentford.
At 22, he needs to continue playing regularly, and he will get this opportunity starting with Brentford alongside Toney upfront.
Yet, suppose Mbeumo can begin to finish slightly more regularly, adjusting his tendency to prioritise power over accuracy.
In that case, he may be a forward to other teams in the Premier League, or even across Europe’s top five leagues, as Brentford looks to procure a replacement for Mbeumo, given the quality dotted throughout his game.
