Mateus Fernandes has so far remained quiet about his future amid transfer interest from Manchester United.
Manchester United started their midfield rebuild with a £38 million deal for Ederson and now attention has turned to Mateus Fernandes.
According to reports, United have made contact with Fernandes over a potential move, but Ineos are remaining patient as they don’t want to match West Ham’s £85m asking price.
Unfortunately, there is now interest from Tottenham, Real Madrid, PSG and Liverpool, so United are at risk of entering a bidding war for the Portuguese star.
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The latest update from transfer expert Fabrizio Romano is that Fernandes has no problems agreeing personal terms with United and Tottenham.
It is a confusing twist in the transfer saga considering previous reports claimed Fernandes was “desperate” to join United and was prioritising a move to Old Trafford.
Ineos want the price to come down, but if Tottenham are willing to pay the full £85 million, then there will be no choice but to match it.
However, Fernandes can take control of this saga by speaking out.
If Fernandes makes it clear he only wants United, like some reports have suggested, then suddenly Spurs would have to back away and Ineos have more negotiating power.
It is a move we have seen before, specifically last summer with Bryan Mbeumo.
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Bryan Mbeumo helped Man United during negotiations
This time last summer, there was an ongoing transfer saga around Bryan Mbeumo which shares many similarities with the Fernandes saga.
Ironically, it was Tottenham interested in Mbeumo and trying to beat United to his signature.
But Mbeumo made it clear he only wants United and that his sole focus was on joining the Red Devils.
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In doing that, Mbeumo made Spurs back off and forced Brentford to focus on negotiations with United. Eventually, a £65m deal was struck, a win-win for both clubs.
If Fernandes follows the same blueprint, he can get his dream move, play alongside Bruno Fernandes next season and Ineos can try to negotiate a reasonable price with West Ham. Your move, Mateus.
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