With Elliot Anderson’s move to Manchester City now advanced, United have turned their attention to West Ham’s Mateus Fernandes, a midfielder whose strengths sit at the opposite end of the spectrum from Anderson’s. That contrast might be exactly the point.
Manchester United are preparing an opening bid for the West Ham midfielder, according to Sky Sports, with Fernandes now among the names Carrick’s recruitment team see as central to this summer’s midfield rebuild. The Portugal international cost West Ham £38m when he arrived from Sporting last summer, but his price has risen since: the Hammers are said to value him at around £80m, and Fabrizio Romano has reported a figure closer to £85m has been discussed with his representatives.
The move comes as United’s pursuit of Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson appears to have run its course. Reports suggest City have moved further and faster: personal terms are said to be largely sorted, and Anderson reportedly had a medical arranged by the club during the World Cup, with Tuchel’s blessing. United, by contrast, never rated Anderson above £90m, some way short of the roughly £130m Forest were seeking, and INEOS chose not to push the bidding any higher.
A different profile altogether
Anderson is a mobile, ball-carrying midfielder capable of covering ground box to box. Fernandes offers something else entirely. Simon Rusk, who worked with Fernandes at Southampton, told Sky Sports that his tackling numbers were “no surprise” given what he had seen of the player both in matches and in how he carries himself off the ball. Alongside that tackling reputation comes a high volume of pressing and recovery running, the kind of defensive output that screens a back line rather than progresses play through it.
For Manchester United, Mateus Fernandes represents a specific kind of insurance, defensive cover rather than Anderson’s progressive passing. That is a notably different brief to the one he would have filled. Where his appeal lay in adding mobility and ball progression alongside Kobbie Mainoo in Carrick’s double pivot, Fernandes looks more like a like-for-like response to the protective element Casemiro’s departure leaves behind, rather than his passing range. Whether that is the better fit for Carrick’s system is a question that will only really be answered once one of them is actually wearing a United shirt.
A breakout season, even in relegation
Fernandes’ stock has risen despite West Ham’s season, not because of it. He made 42 appearances in all competitions last year, 36 of them in the Premier League, contributing five goals and five assists from midfield as the Hammers were relegated to the Championship. Performances of that calibre in a struggling team tend to get noticed, and the 21-year-old has reportedly drawn interest from Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain as well as United, with West Ham in no rush to sell below their valuation even with relegation now confirmed.
The Bruno Fernandes factor
Mateus Fernandes and his prospective Old Trafford colleague Bruno Fernandes are international teammates, and several reports describe the Hammers’ midfielder as “extremely keen” to link up with his compatriot. That kind of detail can sound like a minor footnote, but a player who wants to join and already feels some connection to the squad can matter as much as tactical fit once negotiations get difficult.
Part of a wider rebuild
Mateus Fernandes would not be the only midfield arrival at Manchester United this summer, even if the deal goes through. With Casemiro gone on a free transfer and Manuel Ugarte also expected to leave, Carrick effectively has two midfield spots to fill rather than one. The Red Devils have already agreed a deal worth around €45m (£39m) for Atalanta’s Ederson, who is expected to arrive at the club once Italy’s transfer window opens on 1 July 2026. Reports describing Fernandes as one of as many as five midfield names under consideration suggest United are working through a list rather than fixating on a single player, which fits with INEOS’s reluctance to get drawn into a bidding war over any one name, Anderson included.
How close is this, really?
A note of caution before reading too much into the timeline. A few days ago, Sky Sports reported there had been no official contact between the two clubs, even as United continued background work on Fernandes. More recent reporting from Romano describes United as being in talks on the player’s side, which points to contact with representatives rather than a formal approach to the club itself. The gap between an £80m valuation and an £85m figure discussed with his camp isn’t enormous, but the Hammers’ stance, that they are in no hurry to sell unless their price is met, gives them some leverage even from the Championship.
What happens next
Manchester United are unlikely to resolve their interest in Mateus Fernandes quickly. With the World Cup underway, much of this is likely to stay in the background for now. Anderson’s move to the Citizens looks to be the more advanced of the two situations, and how that resolves may shape the timeline for United’s business too. A completed deal for Anderson removes any temptation for City to revisit Fernandes themselves, while giving United a clearer run at negotiations once the tournament’s distractions ease. The shape of United’s midfield rebuild, two departures, multiple incomings, and a deliberate step back from bidding wars, is becoming clearer by the week, even if the Fernandes deal itself isn’t there yet.
