Mateus Fernandes is poised to be one of the major sagas of the transfer window after attracting interest from a host of European giants.
As things stand, all of Arsenal, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain have been linked with the West Ham starlet.
Mateus Fernandes: The state of play
Impressively, United are the ones who’ve been deemed frontrunners for Fernandes on numerous occasions.
talkSPORT’s Alex Crook has revealed that the Red Devils ‘have basically got personal terms already agreed’ with the midfielder, making them favourites to land his signature before 2026/2027 gets underway.
Yet, his other suitors won’t go down without a fight.
Spurs were the latest to add their names to the mix after establishing their desire to sign Fernandes over the weekend.
https://twitter.com/david_ornstein/status/2067732089693196304?s=61
They are more likely than United to meet the Irons’ £85 million price tag, while also offering the 21-year-old a lucrative financial package.
After all, their lack of European football in comparison to the other sides in the race means monetary promises are essentially the only way Spurs can come out on top.
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Why have INEOS started prioritising Fernandes?
United stepped up their pursuit of Fernandes after conceding that Elliot Anderson was Manchester City-bound, so they opted to turn their attention to a young and promising alternative.
| Appearances | Starts | Goal contributions | Minutes played |
| 72 | 69 | 13 | 5,948 |
FERNANDES’ COMPLETE PL RECORD (TRANSFERMARKT)
Fernandes, unlike Anderson, missed out on a World Cup call-up, which has allowed United to make their approach as soon as the window opened.
A deal could also be wrapped up in time to have the Portuguese in Michael Carrick’s ranks for pre-season, with United favouring a run of fixtures across Europe rather than the United States this time around.
Read more: ‘Extraordinary’ midfielder has now told Sky Sports he is going to sign for Man United this summer
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