Manchester United pulled out of the race for Elliot Anderson sharpish, and good on them, with Nottingham Forest’s financial demands bordering on ridiculous.
But Manchester City have still met the asking price, with the England international now edging toward the Etihad Stadium in what at least be a club-record £116m fee. Whether the Citizens will break the British transfer record is currently disputed.
United do need to stabilise at the top of the Premier League table, though, and actually push toward the 80-point mark so they can cement themselves as title challengers.
There are plenty of talented midfielders still out there, after all, and the Red Devils are still determined to replace Casemiro, who has signed for Inter Miami at the end of his contract, with someone who can help Michael Carrick challenge for silverware.
Someone like Bruno Guimaraes? Sadly, it looks like the Newcastle skipper is headed for Arsenal, if anywhere.
Man United pushing every day to sign new midfielder
With Casemiro gone and Manuel Ugarte potentially sidelined for up to a year after suffering a freak knee injury with Uruguay at the World Cup, Man United’s need for midfielders has intensified.
Arsenal are hoping to sign Guimaraes, and while the Red Devils have held fresh talks for the 28-year-old in the past few days, they appear to be directing their attention in a different direction.
Guimaraes is one of the best midfielders in the Premier League, but he turns 30 before the end of 2027, and United need to sign a midfielder who can charge the project for many years still to come.
As per transfer reporter Fabrizio Romano, Man United will sign Mateus Fernandes this summer, should INEOS be “able to reach an agreement with West Ham”. Of course, the same is true for Tottenham Hotspur, so there is no time to waste in getting this one over the line.
As Romano says, “the player is open to both moves”, and while United are the club with Champions League football to offer, it’s clear that INEOS need to make swift progress in negotiations, with Spurs ready to complete a marquee signing.
United are “attacking every single day” as they push to secure a new midfield superstar, and though he might not be quite as polished as someone like Guimaraes, Fernandes is young, and would be worth the investment.
On that note, West Ham are only willing to “start at £85m”, so there is a lot to be sorted out here.
Why Fernandes can be Man Utd’s own Guimaraes
Fernandes is young, and if you didn’t know any better, you might question whether Manchester United should be paying £85m for a young prospect who has just suffered his second relegation from the Premier League in as many years.
But the Portuguese talent has been a shining light for both Southampton and West Ham, with retired Saints star Jo Tessem even remarking that the 21-year-old is developing into “the ultimate Premier League midfielder”.
He is not the finished product, but Fernandes’ all-round impact in the engine room is making him develop into a force to be reckoned with, someone who top clubs anticipate will thrive on the grandest stages.
Fernandes’ unrelenting combativeness, winning any number of challenges and dispossessing opponents, combines with first-rate technical skills. He can pump the ball forward into the danger area, or he can glide into the final third himself. All this suggests that he might end up mirroring Guimaraes as a Premier League superstar.
Guimaraes is much older, so it’s to be expected that he’s hitting higher notes than his Portuguese counterpart, but it’s curious to note that Fernandes actually put in some pretty remarkable performances for an imperilled West Ham side last year, so much so that he can say he wasn’t dramatically outperformed by the Selecao superstar.