Man Utd begin ‘formal talks’ to sign Fernandes despite ‘done deal’ to Tottenham claims | OneFootball

Ben Jacobs has revealed that Man Utd have opened “formal talks” to sign West Ham midfielder Mateus Fernandes ahead of Tottenham this summer.

The Red Devils have lined up a deal to sign Ederson from Atalanta with the Brazil international likely to officially join once the World Cup is over.

But Man Utd are not done there, with INEOS looking to bring in at least one more midfielder, a left-back and a left-winger as a minimum this summer.

Man Utd have been linked with numerous midfielders this summer but one who has emerged as a top target recently is West Ham’s Fernandes.

Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson was their top target but he proved to be too expensive with arch-rivals Man City agreeing a record fee of £116m for the England international.

And now Man Utd are making a push for Fernandes with Italian journalist Matteo Moretto confirming on Saturday that the Red Devils are ‘back in’ for the Portugal international.

Moretto wrote on X: ‘Manchester United is back in the chase for Mateus Fernandes. In the last few hours, there have been new contacts with the player; the Red Devils are willing to improve their contractual offer to convince him to sign. Manchester United also plans to hold direct talks with West Ham. Tottenham remains in the race and has pressed hard in recent days, but now United is trying to get ahead.’

And now talkSPORT journalist Jacobs has rejected claims of a “done deal” to Tottenham with Man Utd now entering “formal talks” with West Ham to get a deal over the line.

Jacobs said on talkSPORT: “Manchester United are still in talks with the player at the time of recording and West Ham United, and Tottenham are there as well.

“We’ve heard some suggestions in the last 24-48 hours that it’s a done deal with Spurs. We’re not there yet.

“Tottenham have been in advanced talks with the player; Manchester United’s talks with the player pre-date Tottenham entering the race – and again, it could change very quickly.

“But at the time I’m recording this, Fernandes has not made a decision on which club he wants to join – and there could be others to enter the race as well.

“Remember, Arsenal were there a little bit earlier in the summer before the window opened; Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid also hold appreciation too.

“But Manchester United are still in formal talks with West Ham, and what I sense here is both Man United and Spurs are waiting to see if they can get that communication from the player that he only wants to join a particular club – and then you’re in a stronger position to negotiate with West Ham United.”

But West Ham are in no rush to sell, Jacobs explained: “Even though West Ham have gone down, they’ve got a cash injection of £90m and as a consequence, there is not as big an urgency anymore to try and bring in that £150m through sales alone…

“It was thought maybe three or four weeks ago that West Ham United would need a bit of a fire sale, but now they are in a stronger financial position and that is going to allow them to dig in on this £80-85m asking price.”