Salah succession: Is Bryan Mbeumo the rightful heir to Liverpool’s ‘Egyptian King’
The inside forward role has become an essential cornerstone of any team which wishes to adopt the 433 and 4321 systems.
Its rise arguably stems from Jurgen Klopp’s blueprint, with left-footed Mo Salah leading the way at Liverpool as the new type of Premier League winger.
Ryan Giggs sometimes used the inside channels, but ultimately the role was to beat the full-back on the flank and find enough room to whip it into the ‘mixer’.
Today, and somewhat thanks to Klopp’s use of Salah, the position requires a lot more than just crossing into the box.
Now of course with Salah aged 32 and in the final year of his current contract, Liverpool are being linked with multiple potential successors. And the links are back stronger than ever for Bryan Mbeumo of Brentford.
There were gentle murmurs over the summer but naturally, after such an electric start to the current Premier League season, they have gathered momentum.
He is now reportedly being eyed by Arsenal and Newcastle as well.
Bryan Mbeumo Transfer Value - how much is he worth?
According to our player valuation model, Mbeumo has an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €45 million.
His move to Brentford came at a time when he was valued at €6m, a number which has risen dramatically since.
We have him ranked as the most valuable Cameroonian player in the world and also as the best Cameroonian player in the world.
His peak ETV came back in February of this year, but it has seen a downward trend this year with his contract being up in June 2026.
The stats: What do the numbers tell us about Mbeumo?
At 25 years old, Mbeumo has shown remarkable growth year after year, emerging as a standout player in the Premier League and playing a pivotal role in Brentford's climb in English’s top division.
He joined then-Championship side Brentford from Troyes on a five-year contract, arriving in England for a club-record fee of €7 million. In his first season (2019–20), he scored 16 goals across 47 appearances.
Since then, his goals and assists have kept on coming. At the time of writing his record with the Bees stands at 100 goal contributions in 210 matches in all competitions.
Following his two goals in the 4-3 victory over Ipswich on Saturday, Mbeumo celebrated an impressive milestone of 50 goal contributions in the Premier League.
Since Brentford’s promotion from the Sky Bet Championship in 2021, only 10 players have been involved in more Premier League goals, with Mbeumo now alongside Martin Odegaard and Bruno Fernandes.
“You always feel pressure when you play a game, but it is not something that scares you," he said in a recent interview.
"You’re not scared to do bad because you know you can do it naturally. Maybe I have more expectations from the fans or the people outside the pitch, but if you want to reach the steps you want to, you need to embrace this.”
Mbeumo netted nine Premier League goals last season as well as tallying eight assists. He already has eight goals in the division this term. During this period, the Bees felt the loss of their winger when he was out for 13 games with an ankle injury from December to March.
With him playing, Brentford won 1.3 points per game. Without him, they claimed just 0.5.
“I don’t want to set limits on myself,” Mbeumo said. "I think I can always go higher. I want to be the best at what I do, every time.”
Liverpool's search for a Salah replacement is well-documented. It will be hard to do though - after all, how do you replace the irreplaceable?
Maybe Mbeumo won't be breaking Premier League records like the ‘Egyptian King’, but in terms of goalscoring and being the right profile he has big positives.
Now we wait to find out if those rumours linking him with Anfield turn into something more concrete.
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