Tottenham and Manchester United are both reported to be ‘close’ to agreeing personal terms with Mateus Fernandes, despite neither club submitting a bid, let alone one that comes close to West Ham’s valuation. That sequence might sound strange, but in modern football it seems normal practise for suitors to settle contract expectations and salary frameworks before they even approach the selling club.
What’s added extra noise to this saga are the conflicting briefings emerging around the player’s preference. One set of reports claims Fernandes is desperate for Champions League football and sees Manchester United as his “dream move”, even pushing his representatives to prioritise Old Trafford.
Yet other reports emerged insisting he is happy to join Spurs, is settled in London and attracted by Roberto De Zerbi’s project and the promise of a guaranteed starting role, albeit our North London rivals narrowly survived relegation last season.
Kretinsky’s very public alliance with Vanessa Gold has placed West Ham in a strong negotiating position so that the Irons are no longer the ‘lame duck’ in this transfer window
This contradiction is typical of a transfer window where it’s evident that Super agent Jorge Mendes and interested clubs push their own narratives. In reality, Fernandes’ camp is simply exploring the market and both clubs want clarity before committing to a formal offer.
As I mentioned in a previous article, it’s highly probable Spurs will be the first to move, and have already shown their hand by bidding £80m for Tonali at Newcastle Utd, proving they have a transfer war chest.
Man Utd have to move players out before they can bring in any big signings, due to a 70% SCR cap, although they have agreed a deal for Atalanta midfielder Ederson, for a fee of £35m.
For West Ham, none of this changes the fundamentals, no one has met the £80–85m valuation, and until they do, the noise remains just that.
An additional twist is with Real Madrid also registering an interest in the player, the Hammers may even achieve a higher price should there be a bidding war, as per Claret and Hugh this morning.
First off, Real Madrid may havr registered an interest but Enzo Fernández is their number one priority. Tottenham are interested in Sandro Tonali, so against Fernandes is probably second choice as I can’t see them spending £180m on two players. And Westham made £104m loss, and thats without relegation and that has to be dealt with by the end of this month. So the clock is ticking.