Man Utd 'holding back' budget for dream target after €98m transfer failure

1 Jul 2026 09:03 BST | 6 min read

Suraj Radia | Editor

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Manchester United have been forced to rethink their summer plans after seeing top target Mateus Fernandes agree to join Tottenham, with several names emerging as alternative options.

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United had identified Fernandes as their ideal signing for the summer alongside Ederson, who is set to complete a €45 million transfer from Atalanta after his participation at the 2026 World Cup.

However, Fernandes is set to complete a move to Tottenham after they agreed to pay West Ham’s asking price of £85m (€98.7m) all guaranteed and up front, compared to United, who were only willing to meet the valuation with instalments and add-ons.

Current ETV

Mateus Fernandes

M (C)

West Ham

Mateus Fernandes

M (C)

West Ham

ETV Range

€26.1M - €31.8M

The BBC report that United were also ‘not convinced’ that Fernandes ‘really wanted to play for the club’, with the 21-year-old preferring to have an ‘open mind’ about his next club instead of pushing to move to Old Trafford.

United are now set to move onto other targets, with the club’s priority to only buy players at what they consider to be the ‘right valuation’, similar to the transfer business last summer.

Although United have not pressed ahead with a firm new priority, a number of players feature on their shortlist, with the scope of investment potentially depending on sales as well as the deals available to the club.

Man Utd ‘holding back’ budget for dream target as midfield saga takes twist

United’s top target in midfield after Fernandes is believed to be Alex Scott, although the Bournemouth star is also wanted by Arsenal among other sides and a deal could be difficult to conduct.

Fabrizio Romano revealed that Arsenal held talks with Bournemouth in recent weeks, however the Cherries insisted that they had no plans to part ways with Scott and would look to offer him a new deal instead, potentially containing a release clause.

© IMAGO - Alex Scott is wanted by Man Utd and Arsenal.

Scott has two years remaining on his contract and, with Bournemouth having already sold a number of key players in recent times, they are thought to value the 22-year-old at around £80m (€93m.)

Should Scott prove unattainable for United this summer, the club could return to former targets such as Carlos Baleba, while Ben Jacobs has claimed that Fulham star Sander Berge has also been discussed as an option.

United have also considered moves for Sandro Tonali and Felix Nmecha but both players are hot in demand and have valuations close to €100m, which may prove a deterrent for the club.

Much will depend on whether United’s transfer budget can be supplemented with sales, although Manuel Ugarte suffered a long-term knee injury at the World Cup which has seen his anticipated departure ruled out this summer.

United were also banking on the sale of Marcus Rashford this summer but talks have been held with the forward about potentially remaining at the club, which would have a significant impact on Michael Carrick’s budget.

© IMAGO - Aurelien Tchouameni is Man Utd's dream target in midfield.

The dream target for United has always been Aurelien Tchouameni but the Frenchman would need to lower his wage demands assuming Real Madrid are even open to his sale this summer, having previously resisted any approaches for the midfielder.

Ultimately, the signs suggest that, barring an unexpected breakthrough, United may be forced to wait until later in the summer for their star midfield signing in the hopes that one of their ideal targets becomes available for a price the club deems reasonable.

Former United defender Rio Ferdinand posted on X that he believes the club are ‘holding the money back’ for Tchouameni and that may end up being the case, with the focus potentially set to shift towards signing a winger or defender as the pursuit of a marquee midfielder drags on.

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Read more about: Premier League Man Utd Alex Scott Aurélien Tchouaméni Carlos Baleba Ederson Jose Manuel Ugarte Mateus Fernandes Sander Berge Sandro Tonali