Man Utd Still Chasing Mateus Fernandes Despite £85 Million Price Tag and Tottenham Threat

Manchester United haven’t backed off from the Mateus Fernandes chase. Despite reports bouncing around all summer that Tottenham had the inside track, the latest from Fabrizio Romano makes it clear: United are still in the mix, still talking to West Ham, and still trying to get this thing done.

Fernandes is coming off a season that ended with West Ham getting relegated from the Premier League. That doesn’t seem to matter much. The Portugal international is still valued at around £85 million by the club, and they’re not budging. West Ham’s position has been consistent from the start: sell to the highest bidder, period.

Romano laid it out on his YouTube channel this week. Both United and Tottenham are in daily contact with West Ham and with super-agent Jorge Mendes, who represents Fernandes. The player himself has given the green light to both clubs. So now it’s just about who writes the bigger check — and who can sort out the payment terms.

That last part matters more than people think. The fee is one thing. How it gets paid, installments, add-ons, timing — that’s where deals live or die.

There’s been some chatter that Tottenham already had a verbal agreement with Fernandes. Other reports say otherwise. Romano’s take is that nothing is locked in. Fernandes hasn’t made a final call because he doesn’t have to yet. He’s waiting to see which club actually gets a bid accepted by West Ham.

Ugarte injury doesn’t change United’s plans

One interesting detail: Manuel Ugarte recently picked up an injury, but Romano says that hasn’t pushed United to back off Fernandes or to accelerate things just for the sake of it. They’re still working the deal at the same pace.

That suggests Fernandes is a standalone target, not a panic buy or a reaction to something else going wrong in the squad. United clearly see him as a long-term piece in midfield, and they’re willing to go through the slog of negotiating with a relegated team that knows it holds the leverage.

West Ham’s stance is basically: we don’t have to sell cheap just because we’re going down. And they’re right. Fernandes is 24, a full Portugal international, and has the kind of range that fits what United and Tottenham both need. He can sit deeper, he can push forward, he reads the game well. That’s why multiple clubs have called — Real Madrid apparently brought him up in a conversation with Jose Mourinho three weeks ago, and Liverpool made an inquiry at the end of May.

But right now it’s a two-horse race. United and Tottenham are the ones pushing hardest. Whoever blinks first on the fee probably gets the player.

Romano summed it up pretty simply: United have not given up. They’re still there, still talking, still in it. So this one is going to drag on a bit longer.