Man Utd will pursue Bournemouth’s Alex Scott or Brighton’s Carlos Baleba if they don’t finalise a move for West Ham’s Mateus Fernandes, according to journalist Ben Jacobs.
The Red Devils remain favourites to snap up the Portuguese international, but Real Madrid are still lurking in the background. Speaking to The United Stand YouTube channel, Jacobs said they would face a lot of competition for Scott (in particular) if they do decide to switch targets:
“I think if Manchester United don’t get Mateus Fernandes, Scott or [Carlos] Baleba will be the next one that they turn to, and all the rest are kind of below at the moment.”
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“Tottenham really like Scott as well. So we’ve sort of got a domino effect here because Tottenham want Tonali, but if Tonali went to Manchester City, then Tottenham could seriously enter the race for Scott.”
“And from Arsenal’s point of view, they’re thinking about Tonali, but they’ve not made any kind of approach yet. They’re further back now than they were in January, with Man City and Tottenham ahead. So if they think that, like Man United, Tonali is too expensive, they could go big on Scott as well”
Scott’s asking price could be the same as Fernandes’s
Some, including The Athletic, have said that Bournemouth may consider letting the 22-year-old leave for £60m, but Jacobs says the Cherries value him at £80m.
West Ham are, of course, holding out for the exact same figure for Fernandes, and Brighton want a similar fee for Baleba too, so you would not class any of them as economical solutions.
Man Utd could still make a move for a Fulham player
Sander Berge has also been linked with a switch to Old Trafford, but it is clear that the Norwegian international is much further down the list.
It is very much the case that Director of Football Jason Wilcox has a whole bunch of midfield options at different price points. For now, Fernandes is the leading candidate.
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