"I've known Dave now for quite a few years and it's for good reasons," Sir Jim Ratcliffe assured us. "He is obsessive about performance in elite sports, and he is going to be very successful at Manchester United." No, he isn't. Had Brailsford not stepped back from his prominent position at United and the team become a success, none of it would have been down to him. Brailsford, as he admitted to Nasser Hussain in November 2023, is "no football expert". Ratcliffe complained about the "rugby man" Richard Arnold. Brailsford is a cycling guy. Arnold was more of a success during a fraught two years as chief executive. The chances are the majority reading this are more qualified than Brailsford to be on the United football board. Our football knowledge outweighs Brailsford's and that buzzphrase, 'high performance', is as meaningless as Brailsford's presence at United. He was not worthy of the Paul Smith-tailored club suit. United used sleep and meal windows, individually-tailored compression garments to increase blood circulation and a hydration plan in pre-season. That had Brailsford's fingerprints all over it. The finger of blame cannot be pointed solely at him for United then suffering their worst season in 51 years. Brailsford did not endear himself, either. His aloofness was so striking and not in keeping with other Ineos appointments. Dan Ashworth was personable during our sole sit-down with him, Omar Berrada is an engaging talker, Jason Wilcox has offered the odd "hello" and Toby Craig, the director of communications, can be loquacious in an appropriate setting. At Carrington once, Brailsford literally walked the other way when journalists approached him. When he used the wrong door to enter United's Beverly Hills hotel last summer, he completely blanked colleagues. Heads had to roll at United last season and one had to be in the hierarchy. Brailsford was a logical fall-guy, whatever the spin that it was always part of the plan that he would return to his wheelhouse of cycling. Ratcliffe's promise in February 2024 that Brailsford would be "very successful" undermines that script. Throughout Brailsford's 18 months at United, nobody at the club provided a satisfactory rationale for his presence. The closest was from Ashworth in response to a query from this correspondent. Ashworth billed Brailsford as a de facto performance director, someone United would tap into to get the squad back up to speed. Brailsford was billed as a "genius" by Ashworth in September and mentioned in the same breath as Berrada, Wilcox and Erik ten Hag among the management team. This columnist queried Brailsford's role again in March and recommended he be dismissed last month. United are getting there. MBEUMO: RIGHT MAN FOR THE RIGHT WING At the risk of embarking on a victory lap, yours truly wrote in November 2023, "While the focus is inevitably on Ivan Toney, if United are to telephone Brentford about a player it ought to be Bryan Mbeumo." The piece centred on United's need for a diligent and pure right winger. That position has been an unfixable problem since Antonio Valencia assumed the number seven shirt in 2012 and was so cursed by it he requested to revert to his old number 25 after one season. Wilfried Zaha, Adnan Januzaj, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Daniel James, Mason Greenwood and Antony all had purple patches. In Zaha's case, it was merely a propitious pre-season. Then he was restricted to two competitive starts. Januzaj was mismanaged, Mkhitaryan was a mismatch, James was a cost-efficient punt, Greenwood was all-but-excommunicated and Antony was execrable. Diogo Dalot, a right back by trade, is more of a defender than an attacker. If United get Mbeumo, he has to occupy the right wing. The majority of his starts came there in a career-best season for Brentford, albeit predominantly in a 4-2-3-1 formation, and United need attacking nous on the flanks. Some still call them 'wing backs'. Look at Amorim's set-up at Sporting. The wide players were wingers as the system is geared up to service the striker. Mbeumo is such a multi-functional talent he can operate as an attacker or a defender, he is that reliable. Going to United, the pressure would be tenfold. Only three players scored more Premier League goals than Mbeumo in 2024-25 and if he gets 10 for United - half the 20 he tallied for Brentford - it will be a creditable contribution. United do not require all-change in the two playmaker roles and it would be drastic to have a completely new front three. Amad offers continuity, with Bruno Fernandes seemingly set for a central midfield remit if he stays. Mbeumo and Amad could dovetail on that right-hand side. The 3-4-2-1 has been rigid when it should be fluid and Mbeumo would assist that transition from pragmatism to proactivism. If United are defending a lead, he is the one you want in your own third. It was nearly four years ago that Mbeumo scored at Old Trafford in a 2-2 pre-season friendly as masked fans were invited back into stadiums. He deftly cushioned a clipped ball past Dalot, had two more touches to adjust the angle and curled the ball beyond the reach of Tom Heaton. Mbeumo was playing on the right wing. Mbeumo overtook Dalot in 2021 and may do so again in 2025. STRIKER STRIFE? United missed out on Liam Delap but he will not be missed. He has excellent attributes but they did not need a striker four days younger than Rasmus Hojlund. Delap's move to Chelsea could risk United's striker search descending into that dreaded word - saga - this summer. Number 9s who have created a market for themselves will want to be linked with United, whether it is concrete or baseless, and the more names the more chaotic it appears. That is not on United. They had contingency plans in place before Delap rejected them and are seldom responsible for the flurry of stories that emerge in the close season. Matheus Cunha and Mbeumo are targets to strengthen the first team but a striker is an absolute priority. It does not always mean they are first through the door. Last year, the most important position for United to address was defensive midfield and the signing of Manuel Ugarte was not announced until gone 9pm on deadline day. United had to wait for one to go out (Scott McTominay) for one to come in. Fulham did not get close to McTominay's valuation before Napoli muscled in. McTominay left United on the same day that Ugarte officially arrived. Signing two centre halves, a right back and one striker (who it turned out was not a striker) after ending the 2023-24 campaign with a minus goal difference was patently the wrong balance. The mitigation is Joshua Zirkzee had a release clause and Anthony Martial's outstayed welcome had expired. United also had the leverage to recruit Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui as Raphael Varane and Aaron Wan-Bissaka had made room. Leny Yoro was the real showstopper. So much so senior figures at Everton were surprised United suddenly stopped bidding for Jarrad Branthwaite. Cunha and Mbeumo will cost United well north of £100million. They also have, technically, two strikers, so someone has to make way. At least Inter Milan have enquired about Hojlund.