‘Standout’ EPL star ‘very open’ to joining Man Utd after initial contact with his entourage | OneFootball

Manchester United are zooming in on West Ham United youngster Mateus Fernandes, who might become their first summer signing.

The Red Devils need to sign at least two new central midfielders for next season to make up for Casemiro’s departure and Manuel Ugarte’s potential sale.

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The Premier League giants have long been linked with Elliot Anderson, Carlos Baleba, and Sandro Tonali, but Mateus Fernandes is slowly but steadily creeping his way up the shortlist.

Man Utd & Mateus Fernandes express mutual interest

The 21-year-old is a Sporting CP youth product who signed for Southampton in the summer of 2024. Despite the Saints’ relegation, he still impressed in his maiden Premier League campaign, thus earning a £38 million move to West Ham United.

History could be about to repeat itself for the young Portuguese, as the Hammers currently reside 18th in the Premier League table with only two rounds left, but he still managed to earn himself more suitors.

Fernandes has been identified as one of West Ham’s ‘standout’ performers this season. He contributed with five goals and four assists in his 40 appearances across all competitions, and more importantly, he has been displaying a never-say-die attitude during the club’s darkest hour.

Therefore, the Olhao native has now emerged as a serious target for Man Utd, and his candidacy is endorsed by his compatriot, Bruno Fernandes, who happens to be his football role model.

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In his latest update on X (formerly Twitter), Carrington insider Sully confirmed MUFC’s concrete interest in Fernandes, who has expressed his openness to a summer move. However, West Ham are eyeing a comprehensive windfall.

“Mateus Fernandes is attracting serious interest from MUFC and is high on the midfielder shortlist,” posted the journalist.

“Some initial contact took place with his representatives too, just to gauge early interest, and he is very open to a potential move. WHU will want a ‘significantly’ larger fee than what they paid for him, even if they go down.”

PSG & Arsenal also tracking Fernandes

Sully also revealed that Champions League finalists, Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal, are both in the fray. Nevertheless, the reigning European champions are more interested in acquiring attackers rather than midfielders, which could give the Premier League giants the advantage.

“Multiple clubs have Fernandes on their radar, including PSG and Arsenal. However, I’ve heard that PSG are currently prioritising their attack first in the summer. It’ll become more clear in the next weeks what United’s steps are as we near the summer, with concrete steps starting to take place for their targets.”

At this early stage, Man Utd are not in advanced negotiations with any of their targets, so the identity of the newcomers remains anyone’s guess.

However, Fernandes certainly represents an interesting profile, considering his young age, maturity, fighting spirit, and ability to cover various roles in the middle of the park.

The young Portuguese is originally a box-to-box midfielder, but he can also play in a slightly deeper position as No.6, or in a more advanced role behind the attackers.