Manchester United Pursues Mateus Fernandes Amid Midfield Reshuffle
Jason Wilcox has picked his midfielder. Now Manchester United are trying to make the numbers work.
The club’s director of football is driving a move for West Ham United’s Mateus Fernandes, with multiple outlets reporting that Wilcox has personally stepped up United’s pursuit of the 21-year-old Portugal international.
This isn’t a name plucked from a scouting database. It’s a long-running project.
Wilcox’s man
Wilcox knows Fernandes as well as anyone in English football. He helped bring the midfielder to Southampton in 2024, laying the foundations for that deal before leaving his role on the south coast. That relationship has never really cooled.
Now, with West Ham relegated to the Championship and Fernandes facing a 50% wage cut on his £70,000-a-week salary, Wilcox sees an opening. Reports from The Guardian and TEAMtalk state that he is personally monitoring the player and has maintained direct contact with Fernandes’ camp, convinced the youngster can step into Michael Carrick’s midfield and thrive.
Inside Old Trafford, the feeling is that this personal connection could be decisive if the race for his signature tightens.
United’s midfield reshuffle
United’s summer rebuild in the middle of the pitch is already well underway. A deal is in place for Ederson Silva from Atalanta, with the Brazilian lined up as Casemiro’s long-term replacement in Carrick’s side.
The club are also pushing hard for Elliot Anderson, but that chase has hit a wall. Nottingham Forest want in excess of £100 million for the midfielder after rejecting a bid from Manchester City, a valuation United are reluctant to meet.
That price tag has forced United to explore alternatives. Fernandes sits near the top of that list.
West Ham, despite dropping into the Championship, are holding out for around £80 million for their prize asset. Relegation has not softened their stance on the fee, only on the player’s wages, and they know there is serious Premier League interest.
Direct talks and rising momentum
The pace has picked up. Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that United are now in direct talks with Fernandes’ representatives, with contact made over the last 48 hours. Those discussions have already moved beyond simple admiration: United have started to talk through the potential transfer fee and salary structure.
TEAMtalk report that Wilcox himself has spoken to the player’s agents, underlining how personally invested he is in the deal. Inside United, there is growing confidence that if this comes down to convincing the player, they will be hard to beat.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s involvement matters here. The co-owner is understood to be in a position to match, and likely improve on, what Fernandes would earn at West Ham in the 2026/27 season, removing one major obstacle if United and the Hammers can agree a fee.
A 2026 play – with 2024 urgency
The move is being framed as part of a longer-term 2026 plan, but the urgency around United’s approach tells its own story. They see a 21-year-old who has already handled the Premier League, who trusts Wilcox, and who is “extremely keen” on a move to Old Trafford, according to earlier reports from May.
Wilcox has watched Fernandes closely at West Ham and come away convinced that the midfielder can take the step up in expectation, intensity and scrutiny that comes with United. For a club trying to reshape its identity under a new football structure, this is the type of targeted, relationship-driven signing they want to become their norm.
Now it comes down to hard negotiation. West Ham’s £80 million stance, United’s willingness to pivot from a nine-figure Anderson deal, and a director of football determined not to let “his” midfielder slip away.
If Wilcox gets his way again, Mateus Fernandes’ next chapter will be written at Old Trafford, not in the Championship.
