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Tottenham lead the race for Portuguese star

Spurs are making significant strides in the transfer market under Roberto De Zerbi, aiming to overhaul their squad after a challenging campaign. According to transfer expert Matteo Moretto, the club is now "very close" to agreeing personal terms with the 21-year-old midfielder, who is widely considered one of the brightest young talents in the Premier League despite West Ham's recent struggles.

While Manchester United have long identified Fernandes as a priority target, Tottenham have moved aggressively to steal a march on their rivals. The player is reportedly open to a move to north London as he looks to remain in the top flight and avoid a season in the Championship. However, formal club-to-club contact between Spurs and West Ham is yet to take place as negotiations continue on the player's side.

De Zerbi’s ambitious midfield rebuild

The pursuit of Fernandes is part of a broader strategy to transform the midfield at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The club has already been active elsewhere, with reports suggesting they are also pushing for Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali. Securing both players would represent a massive statement of intent, especially given the competition from other top-six sides for Tonali's signature.

The London outfit have already been busy in the window, securing the services of Andy Robertson, Jan Paul van Hecke and Marcos Senesi. With Fernandes and Tonali in their sights, De Zerbi is clearly looking to add both technical quality and defensive energy to his engine room. Fernandes is coming off a productive campaign with West Ham, having made 39 appearances across all competitions last season, scoring five goals and providing five assists.

Competition from Manchester United

Despite Tottenham’s progress, United remain a serious threat in the race for Fernandes. The Old Trafford hierarchy turned their focus toward the Portuguese youngster after finding deals for Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson and Real Madrid’s Aurelien Tchouameni too difficult to conclude. It has been widely suggested that Fernandes admires United and would be keen on the prospect of playing alongside his international teammate, Bruno Fernandes.

The Red Devils' interest makes the recent breakthrough for Spurs even more critical. If Tottenham can finalise an agreement on personal terms with the "superstar" midfielder - who only joined West Ham in the summer of 2025 from Southampton in a deal worth over £40m, signing a contract until 2030 - it puts the ball firmly in West Ham's court. United will now have to decide whether to match Spurs' speed or risk losing out on one of their primary summer targets to a direct Premier League rival.

The £80m stumbling block

While personal terms may be nearing a resolution, the financial aspect of the deal remains a significant hurdle. West Ham are reportedly holding out for a fee in the region of £80-85m for their prized asset. The Hammers are fully aware of the midfielder's high ceiling and are unwilling to grant a "relegation discount" despite their drop to the second tier of English football.

Both Tottenham and Manchester United are expected to try and negotiate that price tag down in the coming weeks. With Spurs aiming to complete as many as seven signings this summer, they will need to balance their budget carefully. Nevertheless, the momentum currently sits with the north Londoners as they look to wrap up a deal for one of the most sought-after midfielders in the country.

Northampton Saints will treat playing Saracens at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as if it was a cup final, according to prop Manny Iyogun.

Saturday's Prem fixture will be the second part of a women and men's double header, titled Showdown VI, at the 62,850-capacity stadium.

Last week Saracens reported that 40,000 tickets had already been sold for an event which will also see Dizzee Rascal perform live between the two games.

"It's got a bit of a finals vibe to it and games like this prep you for finals in knockout rugby and that's exactly how we're approaching it," Iyogun told BBC Radio Northampton's Saints Show.

Saints are two points clear at the top of the Prem table following their narrow, below-their-best win over Newcastle Red Bulls - and have already beaten Saracens twice this season in league and cup.

Sarries, meanwhile, returned to Prem action last Friday with a heavy 62-point defeat at Bath, leaving them in sixth place, eight points outside the play-off spots.

Iyogun's team-mate Tom Lockett believes they will be playing at the "best new stadium in the UK".

"To get a chance to play in it is pretty cool, something we're all pretty excited for but ultimately we've still got to perform as if it's the Gardens or any stadium," second row Lockett said.

"We'll go down on Friday and get a feel for the stadium and then hopefully put that to the back of our mind and go and do the job.

"We've got better at that over the years, playing in big environments and finding out what works and what doesn't work and how we get back on script when things aren't going to plan.

"Obviously we want to be involved in as many big games as possible so it can only be a good thing [to play there]."

England lock Alex Coles could again be absent because of injury suffered on Six Nations duty so 23-year-old Lockett may again inherit the key role as line-out routines caller.

"Colesy is huge for us not only in terms of how he plays but also how he leads that line-out area," Lockett added.

"I've taken so much from him over the past five or six years. I like to think I'm in a good position now where I've got enough experience to take that mantle from him."

Asked how many different routines Saints have, he replied: "It's basically a language and you have to be fluent in that language to know all the different moves you could run.

"If you put a number on it, it would be well into the thousands. Colesy's coming up with new stuff all the time."

So, are there any Tottenham supporters in the Saints dressing room? Not according to Iyogun.

"It's a very tough time [to be a Spurs fan] and playing at Tottenham probably wouldn't be the best experience [if you were]," he said.

"I'm Chelsea fan so me and [strength and conditioning coach] Tommy Buller - he's a Man City fan - have a bit of a natter about it. There's a lot of football fans, Colesy's an Arsenal fan, so there's a bit of rivalry."