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Manchester United are ready to rival Europe\u2019s elite to strike a deal for West Ham United midfielder Mateus Fernandes, according to a new report.<\/p>\n
Fernandes has enjoyed a superb season in east London after joining from Southampton for \u00a342 million last summer. While the Portugal international faces the unflattering prospect of back-to-back relegations from the Premier League, he continues to attract interest from top clubs across the continent.<\/p>\n
If the Hammers are unable to avoid the drop, there is zero chance their 21-year-old maestro will be plying his trade in the Championship next season, such is the talent and potential he possesses.<\/p>\n
Capable of playing in a variety of roles in midfield, Fernandes is an all-action dynamo with a potent pairing of technique and physicality. He combines hard yards with high-level technique, industry with inventiveness, and is said to be an excellent presence in the dressing room.<\/p>\n
The former Sporting CP star, who was sold during Ruben Amorim\u2019s time in Lisbon, is comfortably one of the best midfield prospects on the market this summer \u2013 which naturally has caught the attention of a host of top clubs.<\/p>\n
Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain are understood to have compiled extensive scouting reports and made contact with the player\u2019s camp. Aston Villa, Chelsea, Manchester City and Newcastle United are also \u201cmonitoring developments closely,\u201d TEAMtalk reveals.<\/p>\n
But it is the Red Devils who are said to be \u201cfrontrunners in the race\u201d after receiving confirmation in talks of the midfielder\u2019s desire to wear the esteemed red shirt.<\/p>\n
Well-placed sources indicate Fernandes is \u201cextremely keen on a move to Old Trafford\u201d as he wants to test himself in the Champions League. He also \u201cidolises\u201d his namesake, Bruno Fernandes, offering further incentive to make the switch to Manchester.<\/p>\n
United\u2019s captain is understood to have recommended his younger compatriot to the hierarchy, having played alongside him for the Portuguese national side. The memory of a failed pursuit of Joao Neves will undoubtedly be singed into INEOS\u2019s thinking this time around.<\/p>\n
A deal will become much more manageable financially if West Ham United are relegated, as their asking price will descend with them into the Championship. A fee of around \u00a380 million was initially suggested, but this is expected to drop closer to the \u00a360 million mark if they finish in the bottom three.<\/p>\n
The primary target remains Nottingham Forest talisman Elliot Anderson, with United expected to make a formal approach for the 23-year-old England international later this month. However, competition will prove fierce from the blue half of Manchester, who are said to be favourites to agree a deal.<\/p>\n
Given the intense competition the midfield market will be subject to this summer, a \u00a360m raid for Fernandes represents one of the best \u2013 and, crucially, most realistic \u2013 pieces of business United can make. <\/p>\n
Talks are already underway with his representatives, though club-to-club negotiations are yet to be initiated. West Ham will not be willing to consider proposals until their future inside or outside the Premier League is set. <\/p>\n
Featured image Julian Finney via Getty Images<\/em><\/p>\n The Peoples Person has been one of the world\u2019s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 64 Manchester United are ready to rival Europe\u2019s elite to strike a deal for West…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8042,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8493"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8493\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}