Manchester United have walked away from a deal to sign Mateus Fernandes this summer, turning attention elsewhere to Alex Scott.
Mateus Fernandes felt nailed on to join Manchester United this summer, with Old Trafford his preferred destination.
But now Fernandes to Tottenham is agreed, with the Portuguese midfielder costing a huge and eyebrow-raising £85m and on a reported £250,000-a-week.
Ineos were just right to walk away from this deal, and United have countless alternatives to Fernandes, the main one being linked right now is Alex Scott.
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Manchester United turn attention to Alex Scott
United have been watching Scott, even before the Fernandes news broke, and now he has emerged as the next name on the shortlist.
It comes according to Ben Jacobs on X, United are now expected to turn focus towards Scott after missing out on Fernandes.
Bournemouth are prepared to demand £80m for Scott this summer, likely inspired by West Ham’s fee for Fernandes.
Arsenal, Manchester City, Spurs, and Chelsea are all also showing interest in signing Scott.
Scott is in unsuccessful contract talks with Bournemouth right now, but an approach from United might see these scrapped and hopefully a deal closer to £70m swiftly done.
Not only is Scott a huge talent, but he would also tick the box of Ineos’ planned British, homegrown core, which had originally been Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s plan, according to The Sun in 2024.
This led to the links with Jarrad Branthwaite at the time, but now it looks like Scott may kick-start this recruitment plan.
United are also looking at Aurelien Tchouameni, Carlos Baleba, and Sandro Tonali. But Scott appears to be next on the shortlist.
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How Alex Scott compares to Mateus Fernandes
Pivoting to Scott is exciting, because he is a brilliant midfielder, but how does he compare to Fernandes, both performance wise, style and profile?
Here is how the two compared during the 2025/26 Premier League campaign.
| Fernandes | Statistic | Scott |
| 3 | Goals | 3 |
| 2.97 | Expected assists | 2.95 |
| 87% | Passing accuracy % | 85% |
| 62% | Long ball % | 41% |
| 37 | Chances created | 27 |
| 28 (58%) | Successful dribbles (%) | 29 (56%) |
| 19 (49%) | Aerial duels won (%) | 37 (54%) |
| 199 (55%) | Duels won (%) | 185 (56%) |
| 103 | Tackles | 60 |
| 182 | Recoveries | 195 |
| 35 | Interceptions | 36 |
| 17 | Possession won final 3rd | 13 |
This data comes with the caveat that Scott played for a much better side, in a more high pressing system and his defensive stats tell this story.
However, we can see that he is more dominant in duels and makes more recovery runs.
Fernandes is slightly better on the ball than Scott, although this could be down to the role they were taking up in their teams with Scott often tasked with joining the final third threat, while Fernandes dictated play.
They aren’t a million miles apart, but like with Fernandes, Scott feels more like a Kobbie Mainoo alternative than a partner which makes the idea of Michael Carrick’s midfield duo quite confusing.
There is no doubt he is superb, but in terms of the fit, maybe Carlos Baleba is a better Mainoo partner.
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