Manchester United Pursues Mateus Fernandes Amid West Ham's £100m Demand

Manchester United have opened a careful, calculated pursuit of West Ham United midfielder Mateus Fernandes, but the deal already has the feel of a long, tense negotiation rather than a quick summer swoop.

Reports last week suggested United were preparing an opening bid for the 21-year-old, yet no formal offer has landed at West Ham’s door. The interest is real. The move is not — not yet.

A £100m stance for a £40m signing

The major obstacle is clear: West Ham’s price tag.

The club, relegated to the Championship and wrestling with well-documented financial issues, are still holding out for elite-level money. Fabrizio Romano, speaking on his YouTube channel, outlined the situation, revealing that West Ham view Fernandes as “ideally” a £100m player.

This for a midfielder they signed from Southampton last summer for just under £40m.

Behind that headline figure lies a more realistic number. Romano reports that while West Ham may talk in terms of £100m, “the expectation is that they could close the deal around £85m, not less than this.” It is a hard line, and one that immediately tests United’s new transfer discipline under INEOS.

Direct contact, a keen player, and slow, deliberate steps

Where United have moved quickly is on the player’s side.

Romano claims the club are in “direct contact” with Fernandes’ camp, with the Portuguese playmaker described as “very keen” on a switch to Old Trafford. Personal terms are said to be progressing well, a crucial early step in any major Premier League transfer.

United, though, are refusing to be rushed on the fee. The message from the club’s side is one of control and patience. They are negotiating below West Ham’s £85m expectation and are determined not to be dragged into paying a number they feel belongs to a different market, or a different era.

That patience carries a risk. Interest in Fernandes is not limited to Old Trafford, and the longer United wait, the more chance a rival club senses opportunity. A late hijack is not just a theoretical threat; it is the modern transfer market’s favourite twist.

INEOS draw a line in the sand

Despite the stand-off, the mood inside United remains bullish.

Theatre of Red’s Shaun Connolly reports that United are “confident of a deal” for Fernandes, but makes it clear that INEOS “will not allow the selling party to dictate the matter.” That line is significant. This is not the United of old, panicking late in the window and throwing money at the problem.

“He is keen on a move to Old Trafford, and staff are excited to add him to the squad. Patience is required,” Connolly adds. The club believe the player’s desire to join, combined with West Ham’s financial reality, will eventually tilt the board in their favour.

West Ham’s hard line under financial pressure

West Ham’s negotiating stance is striking when set against their own public admissions.

In February, the club announced they would need to sell players in the summer even if they stayed in the Premier League, after posting a £104.2m loss for the last financial year. Relegation has only tightened that squeeze.

Yet from east London, there is no sign of a fire sale. Instead, West Ham are trying to turn their most valuable asset into a transformative fee, one that could reshape their squad and stabilise their books in a single move.

That is why Fernandes is being talked about in the £85m–£100m bracket. Not because the market has decreed it, but because West Ham need it.

A test of United’s new era

For United, this is more than a chase for a gifted Portuguese midfielder with standout Premier League numbers in 2025/26. It is an early examination of the club’s new transfer identity.

Can they secure a primary target without surrendering to an inflated valuation? Can they stay composed if another club circles? Can they turn a player’s clear desire to join into leverage, rather than desperation?

If they keep their nerve and avoid a bidding war, the expectation around Old Trafford is that Mateus Fernandes will still end up in red — and for a fee that looks far more reasonable than the figures currently echoing around east London.