Manchester United’s summer transfer window hopes may have been dealt a blow earlier this week with the news that Tottenham Hotspur is willing and able to meet the financial demands of West Ham for the signing of midfielder Matheus Fernandes.
The 21-year-old became a mainstay in West Ham’s starting XI in their ill-fated 2025/26 campaign. They could not stave off relegation, and now could lose their star young midfielder to the London rivals who clawed their way out of the relegation zone to help doom the Hammers.
United were rumored to be the leading contenders for Fernandes going into the transfer window. The young player looks up to Bruno Fernandes and there is a strong contingent of Portuguese speakers in the squad already. The problem was always going to be West Ham’s high valuation of the young midfielder and their desire to double the fee that was spent to bring him over from Southampton.
Reporting from Ben Jacobs and Fabrizio Romano indicated that the player will have final say, and whichever club he prefers will have the chance to lower the transfer fee somewhat from West Ham’s asking price in the range of £80m.