Manchester United could be making a mistake when it comes to the signing of Mateus Fernandes this summer.
United are in the market for new central midfielders when the summer transfer window opens next week, with Ederson the first player through the door in a £38million deal from Serie A side Atalanta.
But another is expected to arrive at Old Trafford during the summer, with new permanent head coach Michael Carrick keen to bolster his options in the middle of the park.
Man Utd look set to miss out on Elliot Anderson
Elliot Anderson waves to the Nottingham Forest fans
Elliot Anderson waves to the Nottingham Forest fans
A number of big-name players have been linked with a move to the club and Elliot Anderson remains the number one priority in the position, but United are refusing to enter into a bidding war for the Nottingham Forest man.
Rivals Man City have already had a £105million bid rejected by Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis and that is a figure United are not willing to stretch to in order to sign the 23-year-old.
That will mean they move on to other alternatives, and for some time West Ham midfielder Mateus Fernandes has been one of those, with United preparing a first bid for him.
However, he is another with a big asking price around his shoulders, with the Hammers looking for around £80million to sell him.
Again, United are hoping to haggle on the price and are prepared to wait to see if that figure comes down, but that may be a big mistake.
Speaking on GMS' Market Madness podcast, senior football correspondent Ben Jacobs said: "I think Mateus Fernandes and the asking price kind of started before West Ham went down, so as we revealed on GMS on a previous Market Madness show, the fee that West Ham paid was £38million, plus £4million in add-ons, so there's your £42million and then if you double that, it's almost £85million and the asking price that West Ham want is between £80million and £85million.
"There's some flexibility there, because it could be with add-ons, and that's ultimately what West Ham did. If you just take £38million and double it, it's a little bit lower, but I think West Ham's perspective is that overall, in a mixture of guaranteed and bonuses, they want double what they paid, but that was informed to clubs before they went down, and suitors still feel that that price might drop.
"West Ham are sticking to the price for now, because the window hasn't even opened, and due to the volume of interest you have, in particular Manchester United and PSG. Manchester United will be there and they're already in talks on the player side. PSG could enter this race as well, and the more volume of interest, the more likely West Ham are to get a bidding war, and can stick to their asking price.
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"And I think when you look at this out of context, you just see a number like £80million and you think it seems quite high, and it certainly is when you think of West Ham's relegation and all of the turmoil at the club, but the market is just inflated.
"Bournemouth want £80million for Alex Scott. Elliot Anderson has a high price, Chelsea want £120million for Enzo Fernandez. So West Ham will be pointing to other deals in the market and saying you have to meet that valuation."
West Ham getting relegated from the Premier League at the end of the season was expected to make things easier for interested parties to sign some of their top players on cheaper deals.
However, that is not the case.
West Ham stand by £80m price tag
West Ham United midfielder Mateus Fernandes celebrates scoring Premier League goal against Sunderlandvia Reuters
The Hammers are sticking by their price tag and while United may wait to see if the price comes down the closer we get to summer transfer deadline day, other clubs may show an interest - something West Ham are hoping will happen, like with PSG.
West Ham's relegation, you would have thought, would already have made them rethink their asking price, given they will need all the financial power they can get in their bid to return to the Premier League as quickly as possible, but their stance remains firm.
United run the risk of another club swooping in to sign the highly-rated 21-year-old before them, or, alternatively, seeing the price remain the same and then picking the Portuguese up late in the window and then having to wait to get him up to speed with United's philosophy.
Either way, it is a dangerous game United are playing.
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