Man Utd confident they will sign £85m “superstar”

Well, it doesn’t look like Manchester United will be signing Elliot Anderson this summer.

The Nottingham Forest midfielder is anticipated to join Manchester City, who have this week seen a second formal offer worth £120m rejected. It is a good thing that the Red Devils are not entertaining a frantic auction, maybe learning from their past mistakes.

However, the pursuit of a new centre-midfielder to replace Casemiro and partner Kobbie Mainoo remains on.

There’s no doubt that Anderson, hailed as “one of the best midfielders in the Premier League” by Three Lions manager Thomas Tuchel, would have improved Michael Carrick’s team, but there are cheaper alternatives on the market, players who could still make a significant impact for this resurgent side.

Man United confident they will sign Anderson alternative

INEOS have earmarked a number of potential midfielders to strengthen Carrick’s outfit this summer. Anderson might be the cream of the crop, but the likes of Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali would hardly be a poor alternative.

Of course, the Magpies don’t really want to part with him either, set to demand around £100m if suitors get serious and start lodging formal offers.

INEOS need to select the perfect midfielder, and they may find another Premier League star who could be the perfect pick.

According to TEAMtalk, West Ham United midfielder Mateus Fernandes is desperate to sign for Manchester United this summer, and the Red Devils are confident that they will land him.

West Ham want £85m for the Portuguese talent. Whether they have a leg to stand on there given that they have fallen into the Championship is another question, but the 22-year-old will undoubtedly cost a pretty penny.

Separately, The Times have revealed that United are set to beat Arsenal for his signature. Those in the know believe that it is only a matter of time before the Red Devils welcome Fernandes to the Theatre of Dreams. They do need to confirm that they want to sign him instead of Tonali, but it does look like he is Carrick and company’s preference.

Why Fernandes would be a better signing than Tonali

Across the 2025/26 campaign, Fernandes has been utilised across a range of different midfield roles by Graham Potter and then Nuno Espirito Santo, and while he has suffered successive relegations from the Premier League, he is unquestionably good enough to play for a team fighting for silverware.

Regarded as something of a “superstar” for West Ham by football writer Joost van der Leij, the Portuguese midfielder is a shrewd technician and a steely defender. He packs a punch, and while he might not be quite as elegant as Tonali, it’s hard to argue that he is inferior, sparkling for an embattled West Ham side throughout the campaign.

Fernandes is a far more active dueller than Tonali, albeit in a different setting. But if he moves to Manchester, there is a sense that that combative edge will remain sharp, simultaneously bringing flair and skill on the ball.

There’s no doubt that Carrick is restoring the feel-good factor at Old Trafford, but he needs to cement this excellent run of form by adding bona fide quality to the team. Fernandes encapsulates that, with the potential to become as notable for Man United as his namesake.

Fernandes is young, still developing, but perhaps that would cater toward United’s strategy. He can be moulded to Old Trafford’s design over the next several years, becoming an all-action ‘superstar’ with the potential to lead United back to the top of the tree.

He has shown over the past few years that he can deal with attritional situations, but as United go from strength to strength, there’s a case to be made that he could unlock latent areas of his skillset that would allow him to surpass the impact that Tonali could make.

In truth, both Tonali and Fernandes are among the Premier League’s standout midfielders, but United are in a strong position, and picking between the two could prove crucial in the fight for titles once again.