Bryan Mbeumo explains key reason why he rejected Arsenal to join Manchester United

Bryan Mbeumo had approaches from other clubs who could offer him Champions League football next season, like Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham, but chose Manchester United because of the challenge

New Manchester United signing Bryan Mbeumo will not be fazed by playing in front of 75,000 fans at Old Trafford. But ask him to play the piano – a hobby he took up to relax away from football – in front of a few people and the forward is gripped by anxiety.

“The piano just makes me take time for me and relax myself in my free time,” said Mbeumo, who joined United from Brentford in a deal worth up to £71million.

“But the thing is, I don’t really like to play in front of people. It’s funny, but it’s so different. 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’.”

As well as the piano, Mbeumo has developed a passion for chess and plays online anonymously, his opponents unaware they are up against a Premier League superstar. “Playing online is anonymous,” said Mbeumo. “I have a username, you choose a nickname and just play against random people online.

“With chess, 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’s a strategy game. In football you have your strategy as well so you can link them together.

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“I’m not crazy good. But if you know the rating, I’m like 800 on chess.com. There was a period when I was really, really into it, watching videos on YouTube and doing training on the app. For the brain, it’s really, really good and you can develop new skills.

“Obviously you’re doing football most of the time, every day, so sometimes you don’t really have time to develop other skills. But I like creativity and stuff.”

Mbeumo had approaches from other clubs who could offer him Champions League football next season, like Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham, but chose United because of the challenge of helping to resurrect the fallen giants.

“I spoke to some other managers because I wanted to hear their projects,” said Mbeumo, who scored 20 league goals last season. “But the Manchester United one was very good for me.

“United is a big club. It’s a great opportunity and I chose the project. I’m someone who likes a challenge. There is a very good project here and I wanted to be a part of it.

“I always trust my people around me. The transfer window can be long, it can be short. So you have to 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. But I was convinced that it was going to happen.

“The manager said ‘we are people who like winning and we want to be the best team’. It was a very friendly conversation. He explained his project to me, what he wanted to do and I really clicked on that.

“Another part as well is because 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 big.”

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