Manchester United’s pursuit of Elliot Anderson has come to an end after Manchester City’s latest bid. But now the two midfield priorities have been revealed.
While it has long looked unlikely, Manchester United remained in the Elliot Anderson race this summer. But that has all changed now.
David Ornstein has reported for The Athletic that Manchester City have now seen a bid totalling £121m rejected for the Nottingham Forest midfielder, which is a ludicrous amount of money.
He explained that United refuses to be drawn into a bidding war for Anderson; instead, two other midfielders are being focused on.
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Manchester United narrow midfield focus to two
£121m for a player like Anderson is insanity, and quite rightly, United appear unwilling to go anywhere near that.
Instead, Ornstein has named Alex Scott and Mateus Fernandes as two alternatives United are focusing on now.
He adds the bonus that both players want to move to United, which is more than can be said with Anderson, who is thought to be demanding a huge wage bracket.
This is absolutely the correct call for United, as both Scott and Fernandes could end up costing combined what Anderson is costing.
Scott is reportedly valued closer to £60m, which could see a deal struck around £50m with add-ons. While West Ham wants £80m for Fernandes, they would probably accept deals worth less than this, given their need for funds.
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Let us know who should be signing number two…
Fernandes and Scott both have a major advantage over Anderson
With Michael Carrick planning to move toward a midfield three in attempts to structure his team in a PSG-like style, signing two quality, technical, hard workers with their prime yet to come is the perfect move.
Another positive is that both would be in pre-season, given they aren’t involved in the World Cup.
After Ederson was called up to the Brazil squad late, it puts United back in a position with Mason Mount as the only senior midfielder set to be in pre-season from the start.
But signing Fernandes and Scott suddenly transforms United’s midfield and allows Carrick players he can plan for the season with from early in pre-season.
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