Tottenham Hotspur have agreed a deal worth around £85 million to sign Matheus Fernandes from West Ham, beating interest from Manchester United for the Portuguese star.
Matheus Fernandes joins Tottenham (Image: Clive Rose, Getty Images)
Tottenham Hotspur fought hard to sign Matheus Fernandes from West Ham, despite strong interest from Manchester United.
United were also looking to sign the 21-year-old midfielder as they look to strengthen their squad ahead of the new season, but Tottenham sporting director Johan Lange turned up in high spirits to make his true intentions known ahead of the new Premier League campaign.
Football.london report that Spurs have surpassed Manchester United’s offer for Fernandes, agreeing a deal worth £85 million with the Hammers. Manchester United pressed hard to sign the former Southampton player, who is currently poised to sign a long-term deal in north London, but withdrew their offer after their financial needs outweighed his valuation.
The Portuguese international has left the door to Tottenham slightly open during negotiations, with the Red Devils understood to be only interested in signing a player who is fully committed to the Old Trafford project. In recent years, Manchester United have shown patience and made a conscious effort to sign the right players at the right price.
Therefore, when Lange dug a little deeper into his resources and increased his offer, the Red Devils decided to back out. West Ham have since given Fernandes permission to undergo a medical ahead of his move to north London.
The playmaker is poised to become Tottenham’s fifth signing of the summer, joining Andrew Robertson, Marco Senesi, Jan Paul van Hecke and Martin Dubravka.
And Spurs have no intention of letting up, with Roberto De Zerbi looking for further reinforcements.
On the final day of the campaign, after clinching Premier League qualification with a win over Everton, the Italian made headlines when he hinted to journalists that half of the squad he inherited could qualify.
Manchester United pushed hard to land the midfielder before walking away from the deal (Image: Getty Images)
“From tonight we have to organize ourselves and start building a new team. I think we have to replace too many players right now. We have 10, 11, 12 players who are good enough to stay. That’s enough. I like players, especially people, and we have to complete the team with first-level players,” De Zerbi said.
Sandro Tonali is still linked with a move to Tottenham, even though Fernandes’ move is close to being completed.
Spurs are understood to be in talks for the Newcastle United midfielder, but they also face stiff competition in the race for his contract.
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