By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)
Manchester United could be ready to hit West Ham with something of a transfer double whammy, with reports in The Athletic suggesting they want both Mateus Fernandes and Crysencio Summerville.
Last night, Claret & Hugh ran a story suggesting Manchester United were still delaying making their first bid for Fernandes and had let it be known through intermediaries that they were not willing to pay the £80 million valuation West Ham wanted for the midfielder.
However, David Ornstein’s piece today appears to suggest that the movers and shakers at Old Trafford are fully aware of the asking prices involved.
A £130 Million Double Deal?
Summerville is believed to be valued at around £50 million, which when added to Fernandes’ £80 million valuation would take the total package to an eye-watering £130 million.
That is an enormous amount of money by Championship standards.
It is also worth remembering that these are arguably the two players most likely to leave West Ham this summer.
Whilst the club have pledged to try and retain key players, there will inevitably be some situations which are simply beyond their control.
Two Players Most Likely To Leave
With Fernandes’ agent Jorge Mendes already in discussions with interested clubs, it would be fair to say that the midfielder’s future is moving towards an exit.
The same can probably be said of Summerville.
Whether either player ultimately ends up at Manchester United remains to be seen, but it would be surprising if their heads had not been turned by the level of interest being shown.
A Significant Financial Boost
Look, nobody wants to lose players but the positive from West Ham’s perspective is obvious.
A deal of this size would provide the club with an immediate injection of working capital and a significant boost when it comes to complying with the Championship’s squad cost ratio regulations.
It’s no secret that West Ham are carrying substantial debt, although a cash injection from Daniel Kretinsky is still expected.
For now, it remains speculation rather than anything concrete but there is a lot of smoke coming from Old Trafford.
But if Manchester United are genuinely prepared to pursue both Fernandes and Summerville, then West Ham could soon find themselves considering one of the biggest transfer packages in Championship history.
This really depends how far Kretinsky is prepared to push boat out.
How much would it cost to replace Fernandez with a replica?
Summerville can be fragile at times and agree injury could be costly.
£150m Man Utd can have the pair tomorrow.
Yes they are two good players but needs be to get us over the line (debt).
Snatch there hands off if true..short term pain maybe but it only takes one bad tackle to end a career just ask Dean Ashton that….so this would be acceptable on the financial side and then help us keep other players hopefully and also make us a bit more active in the transfer market….but it is paper talk as they say and tomorrow it will be chip paper
Summerville scoring on his WC debut just added a few more million squid to his valuation. hat-trick next match please Cry 😆😆
Anywhere from £110-120m would be reasonable in my opinion. We will then be able to take our time getting max value for Arbeloa, Todibo, Kilman, Diouf (if he wants out), AWB, JWP, Alvarez, and Ze German. That could get us close to being back in the black and we will be able to have a real go in the transfer market this summer.
The Mail has the number at 140 million. If either number is close and this did come to pass the impact on West Ham’s debt would be transformative. West Ham have around 190 million in transfer fees owing. A deal like this (ignoring amounts due to agents and Southampton) brings that debt down to around fifty million. Sell some others like Pablo and West Ham would be in a very manageable financial situation. That would be key in rebuilding the club.
I agree if true, whilst we want to hold to quality players it is inevitable that Fernandes and Summerville will leave. Fernandes is a real find and quality player Summerville, if you remember, spent a fair bit of time injured and occasionally plays well when selected, I’m hoping he has a fantastic World Cup and remains injury free and maybe interest from other clubs may push for another 10 million or so. Both players need to be involved in a bidding war. Let’s hope who ever buys them do so as soon as the transfer window opens, leaving us with a considerable debt ‘recovery’ with some allowance to bring in new players in time for the start of the season!
If the new board is serious about a swift return to the PL then we should be doing everything we can to hold on the these players. A season in the Championship would do Fernandes and Summerville no harm at all.
It’s an inevitable shame that Fernandes will go. But I’ve no problem with Summerville being sold. Hot and cold, flatters to deceive, doesn’t often show up in the big games- all stuff that Leeds fans criticised him for.
Hopefully there’s something of a bidding war that will get us a decent fee, say £50m plus.