'Improving every day' – Mbeumo on his best season

Following his best ever season, Bryan Mbeumo's name was always going to be a fixture of the post-season gossip columns.

Twenty Premier League goals for Brentford, a player of the season nomination and a manager who says the club is "open to offers" means it is no surprise that Manchester United have already ed their interest.

But the Cameroon forward is focused on his own ambition to "be the best player possible", revealing he has driven his notable improvement by employing off-field helpers such as personal trainers, physiotherapists and a chef to cook his meals at home.

"Every little thing you can add to what we do in the training ground can help," Mbeumo, 25, told BBC Sport Africa ahead of the Bees' final game of the campaign.

"I tried to arrange everything around my life to be the best as possible on the pitch."

Only Mohamed Salah, Alexander Isak and Erling Haaland outscored Mbeumo in the league this season, while his seven assists were also key in helping Brentford to a top-half finish.

Team-mate Nathan Collins was the only outfield player to spend more minutes on the pitch in the Premier League.

"Consistency is really important," Mbeumo said.

"If you want to have big ambitions you need to perform the whole season.

"I think I am still improving every day I put a foot on the pitch. I never put limits on myself."

Many people expected Brentford to struggle after seeing star striker Ivan Toney depart for Saudi Arabia on transfer deadline day in August - a problem compounded by a string of injuries to Toney's most likely replacement, club record g Igor Thiago.

But Mbeumo's hot streak has helped fill the void, aided and abetted by Yoane Wissa, who found the net 19 times in the league.

A formidable strike partnership on the pitch, the connection between these good friends continues off it, with Wissa the more relaxed of the two.

"He helped me a lot with the mental part," said Mbeumo, who eventually describes himself as an "electrical player" after pausing to find the right word to describe his temperament.

"I get angry really easy," he added. "He [Wissa] helped me to just stay cool."

Mbeumo, a former youth international, has now been in west London for six seasons, having ed from Troyes in August 2019.

Wissa, 28, who was also born and began his career in , signed two years later and Mbeumo was happy to act as a mentor when his friend arrived from Lorient.

"I learned a lot from [former Brentford players] Julian Jeanvier and Said Benrahma who helped me before so I wanted to do the same with him because I think it is hard when you leave your first place and go to another country.

"I used to live really close to him, just one minute away. Sometimes I was ing him at his, having dinners."

While Mbeumo made his decision to play for Cameroon in August 2022, Wissa made his debut for DR Congo in 2020.

Mbeumo agrees their shared Franco-African heritage is part of what makes them so close.

"When I decided to play for Cameroon he was the happiest and he just sent me a message [saying] 'I'm so, so happy for you. You made a good choice'."

Barring injury, both players will miss this year's Christmas Premier League fixtures to take part in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, which begins on 21 December.

But the success of their partnership is not just down to their friendship. Mbeumo says they also put in extra work as a pairing after training to "create links".

"Then, on the pitch, sometimes you don't even have to look," he added.

In addition to catching the eye of Manchester United, Mbeumo's form has obviously kept Brentford fans happy.

But it has also enamoured him to millions of other ers around the world - those who play the Premier League's official fantasy football game (FPL).

The forward finished the season as the game's second-highest points scorer, behind only Salah, with Wissa not far behind in eighth.

"I'm happy to make these people happy," Mbeumo said, laughing at the "crazy" idea that nearly half of 11 million managers had him in their squad come the end of the campaign.

"We [Mbeumo and Wissa] always laugh about it because when we're not playing good or when we don't assist or score, sometimes I go on social media and they [FPL managers] are just so, so angry.

"This is making me laugh a bit because when you do well they're the first to say, 'Oh, [you're] the best player'."

While Mbeumo has not yet been tempted to play the game himself, he says he also finds it funny when people stop him in the street to chat all things FPL.

And he gets tapped up for inside information by non-playing staff at Brentford.

"Sometimes they ask me, 'Should I put you in my team">