For the second time in a week, Manchester United have watched a midfield target slip through their fingers — and the sound of silence from Old Trafford's incoming transfer desk is growing louder.
Tottenham Hotspur agreed an £85m deal with West Ham for Mateus Fernandes on Tuesday, the 21-year-old swap confirmed just days after Manchester City landed Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest for a club-record £116m. United were keen on both. They walked away from both.
“Manchester United have missed out on top midfield targets Mateus Fernandes and Elliot Anderson this summer, leaving them without a single signing.”
The club made clear early in the summer they would not spend £120m on Anderson, the England international. With Fernandes, they pushed hard but refused to match Tottenham's all-cash bid. United would have been willing to pay £85m including add-ons, sources said, but felt if they did, Spurs would go to £90m. It is exactly the kind of arms race they are determined to avoid.
Yet as June flips into July, the cost of caution is becoming visible. Out-of-contract players Casemiro and Jadon Sancho have already left. Rasmus Hojlund's £38m exit to Napoli was confirmed in May. No one has arrived. Marcus Rashford and Andre Onana remain, but the squad is thinner than when the window opened.
United have agreed a £35m deal with Atalanta for Brazil midfielder Ederson, but his late call-up to the World Cup squad means his medical will not happen until Carlo Ancelotti's side are eliminated. Even then, he will take a minimum three weeks off. The club want at least one, and possibly two, more midfield options — and time is passing.
The scouting list is growing. Bournemouth's Alex Scott has been linked, but Arsenal have already been told the 22-year-old is not for sale and his club want to tie him to a long-term contract. Another Cherries midfielder, Tyler Adams, and Brighton's Carlos Baleba — valued at £100m last year — have also been mentioned. Felix Nmecha, a former Manchester City academy player known to United's director of football Jason Wilcox, is a name being floated. Real Madrid's Aurelien Tchouameni continues to be monitored, but the feeling at this stage is that he will stay at the Santiago Bernabeu.
United sources insist their recruitment stance is responsible. But with no signings, no sales beyond the departed, and each passing week bringing the new season closer, the pressure is mounting. The next name on the list may already be under consideration — but after two straight rejections, the margin for error is shrinking.