West Ham have agreed an £85m deal with Tottenham Hotspur for midfielder Mateus Fernandes.

For the second time in a week, Manchester United have missed out on a midfield target. On 25 June, Manchester City agreed a club record £116m deal with Nottingham Forest for United's first-choice Elliot Anderson. Now Tottenham have agreed to pay West Ham £85m for Mateus Fernandes. United were keen on both.

The issue is how much it would have cost to bring them to Old Trafford. The club made it clear early in the summer they were not prepared to spend £120m on Anderson and it soon became obvious that is roughly what it would take to acquire the England international. United pushed hard for Fernandes but once Spurs made their interest known, West Ham stuck to their valuation.

United would have been willing to pay £85m – albeit including add-ons – but felt if they had, Spurs would have gone to £90m. It is precisely the kind of situation they are keen to avoid and United feel their position is a responsible one.

But, as June flips into July, out of contract players such as Casemiro and Jadon Sancho have now left. Others, most significantly Marcus Rashford and Andre Onana, are Manchester United players again. So far, no-one has come in and, beyond Rasmus Hojlund, whose £38m exit was confirmed in May following Napoli's qualification for next season's Champions League, and those out of contract, no-one has left.

What is happening at Old Trafford?

United have agreed a £35m deal with Serie A outfit Atalanta for Ederson but his late call-up to the Brazil squad means his medical will not happen until Carlo Ancelotti's side – who play Norway in the last 16 on 5 July – are out of the competition.

As with all of United's players representing their countries in the US, Canada and Mexico, he will then get a minimum of three weeks off. But they want at least one, and possibly two, more midfield options.

After missing out on Fernandes, United are assessing the situation. They have most recently been linked with Bournemouth's Alex Scott, although Arsenal have already been told the 22-year-old is not for sale and his current club are keen to tie him down to a long-term contract.

A second Bournemouth midfielder in Tyler Adams and Brighton's Carlos Baleba have also been mentioned. Another name being floated is Felix Nmecha, a former academy player at Manchester City. Nmecha is well known to United's director of football Jason Wilcox, who was formerly head of City's academy.

The position of Real Madrid's France international Aurelien Tchouameni continues to be monitored but the feeling at this stage is that he will remain at the Santiago Bernabeu. There are likely to be other names being considered as well.

United sources are adamant their recruitment strategy is the right one and point to the relative success of last summer to prove it.

Marcus Rashford last played for Manchester United in December 2024. Goalkeeper Onana is on the verge of agreeing a second season on loan at Turkish club Trabzonspor, but still has an Old Trafford contract that runs to 2028.

And then there is Rashford. His United contract - the biggest at the club - also runs until 2028. Barcelona opted not to trigger a £26m transfer for the 28-year-old, currently on World Cup duty with England, last month. United's current stance is that they will not entertain another loan to Barca.

Unless he finds a new club in the meantime, he will also return for pre-season training three weeks after his World Cup commitments are over.

Club officials are portraying a sense of calm, stating, quite rightly, it is seven weeks before the first Premier League game at Hull and almost nine before the transfer window closes. 'We are going to sign players' – is the assurance.

How they play, not whether they are a big name or not, will be the judgement on which their status is measured, it is being stressed. Whether that is enough to appease many of the club's supporters – buoyed by last season's unexpected Champions League qualification and desperate for new arrivals – is another matter.

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