Man United transfer news: ‘Cursory conversations’ held with West Ham star ‘appreciated’ by Jason Wilcox

Manchester United have reportedly opened talks with the camp of West Ham United midfielder Mateus Fernandes ahead of the summer transfer window.

The 21-year-old became the third-most expensive player in Hammers history when he joined from Southampton for a reported £42m in August last year.

Although West Ham find themselves in a relegation battle, Fernandes has been a standout performer for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side this season, excelling at controlling the tempo of games, breaking the lines with progressive passes and winning second balls as a high-energy, box-to-box midfielder.

Only captain Jarrod Bowen (3,111) has played more minutes for West Ham this season than Fernandes (2,506), who has chipped in with three goals and three assists in 29 Premier League appearances.

Fernandes’s impressive performances have been rewarded with a first senior international call-up to the Portugal squad for this month’s international break.

The former Sporting Lisbon youngster is also understood to have caught the attention of a number of clubs across Europe, including Man United who have sent scouts to watch the midfielder.

Man Utd weighing up summer move for Fernandes after ‘internal conversations’

According to journalist Ben Jacobs, Fernandes is one of several targets appreciated by Red Devils director of football Jason Wilcox and initial ‘cursory talks’ with the player’s camp have been held over a potential summer transfer.

Speaking to The United Stand, Jacobs has said that it is ‘definitely going to be tough’ for West Ham to keep hold of Fernandes if the club gets relegated from the Premier League.

“Yeah, I think there’s a possibility [Fernandes] leaves West Ham, obviously, because if they go down, then definitely [he is] tough to keep,” said Jacobs.

“And there is some appreciation, I’m told, by Jason Wilcox, and he falls into the same category as (Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder) Joao Gomes, to my knowledge, where Man United have run some data, they’ve had a few cursory conversations.

“But it’s just really important to stress at this stage in particular, a few months out from the summer, if Jason Wilcox and Christopher Vivell were not speaking to a hundred players’ camps, they wouldn’t be doing their job.

“Part of it is just about understanding direction of travel, merry-go-round movement, market opportunities if a team goes down, so there have been some internal conversations about players like Joao Gomes, Mateus Fernandes, but at this stage, I’m not aware that Manchester United have done much more than that.”

Fernandes could be viewed as ideal Casemiro replacement

Man United are expected to prioritise the addition of a new centre-midfielder this summer, as Casemiro will be leaving the club when his contract expires at the end of the season.

There is also believed to be uncertainty over the long-term future of Manuel Ugarte, who has struggled for regular game time at Old Trafford this term, but Kobbie Mainoo is set to stay and sign a contract extension after forcing his way back into the first-team fold under interim boss Michael Carrick.

Fernandes is set to be scouted further by Man United and other interested suitors in the coming months before a decision is made over whether they wish to submit a formal offer.

He shares similar characteristics to Casemiro and could therefore be viewed by the Red Devils as an ideal replacement for the experienced Brazilian. However, it is unclear where the West Ham star ranks on the club’s list of midfield targets at this stage.

The likes of Joao Gomes, Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson, Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton, Brighton & Hove Albion’s Carlos Baleba and Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali have also been linked with a move to Old Trafford.