Some Manchester United fans were crestfallen at missing out on Mateus Fernandes this summer, but Ineos have redeemed themselves in a major way now.
Manchester United were heavily linked with Mateus Fernandes and the Red Devils seemed to be the favourites to land the talented 22-year-old Portuguese midfielder.
However, Tottenham’s major rebuild this summer saw Spurs drop an eye-watering club-record fee of £85m to land Man Utd target Fernandes from West Ham in July.
Fernandes might not be heading to Old Trafford now, but Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s regime at the Premier League club have proved their critics wrong once again this summer.
Who will end up having the better season Andrey Santos or Mateus Fernandes, and why?
Have Manchester United got the better deal this summer?👀
Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos’ collective transfer fees put the Mateus Fernandes deal into a ‘true’ perspective for Ineos
Manchester United agreed to sign Andrey Santos from Chelsea for a £50m deal after missing out on the likes of Mateus Fernandes, Sandro Tonali and Elliot Anderson.
The Red Devils will pay an initial £48m fee and a further £2m has been included in add-ons, with Chelsea also adding a 10 per cent sell-on clause for Andrey Santos.
United on Monday have now made another major move in the summer after the Red Devils’ surprise transfer of Youri Tielemans from Premier League side Aston Villa.
Fabrizio Romano on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, revealed that United have triggered the £35m release clause in Youri Tielemans’ contract.
Journalist Nathan Salt also shared on X the savviness of Ineos’ business approach, with Tielemans and Santos both coming in at a combined fee of £85m.
United’s major summer overhaul of the midfield has now seen Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s regime strengthen the depth in the squad instead of making one marquee transfer in Fernandes.
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Ineos’ transfer approaches for Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos reinforce the change in direction at Man Utd
Ederson had been planned as Man Utd’s first major signing this summer before the transfer for the 27-year-old Brazilian midfielder was plunged into serious doubts.
It has been reported that United could re-explore a move for Ederson later in the summer after the Red Devils failed to sign him from Serie A side Atalanta.
However, Ineos have moved at lightning speed to identify and acquire a Premier League talent like Youri Tielemans, who has been linked with Man Utd in the past.
United fans have been scarred by transfer mistakes pre-dating the Ineos regime and the move for Fernandes carried significant risk due to the mammoth fee involved.
However, Ineos have allowed transfer targets to move past them if United are not able to acquire the ‘right’ midfield players at more feasible prices this summer.
Red Devils supporters hailed Ineos as ‘very smart’ in response to Nathan Salt’s tweet and it is not hard to see how the mood has significantly shifted around the club.
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