BREAKING NEWS: Agent Spotted in London to Finalise Double Deal — Manchester United Close in on £80M Creative Maestro Mateus Fernandes AND £69M Goal-Machine Iliman Ndiaye.

The agent’s car pulled up in London this morning and the entire football world stopped to watch. Inside that vehicle, the paperwork that could finalise not one but two of the most exciting transfers of the entire summer transfer window. Manchester United, already buzzing from the confirmed arrival of Ederson from Atalanta, are now on the verge of completing a sensational double swoop that will leave every rival club in the Premier League shaking their heads in disbelief.

Two targets. Two four-year contracts agreed in principle. Two players who have already made their personal preference crystal clear. And one agent working through the night to make Michael Carrick’s grandest vision a reality by the time the sun goes down.

Mateus Fernandes — the 21-year-old Portuguese midfield maestro who West Ham are demanding £80 million for but who has already told anyone who will listen that Manchester United is his one and only destination. And Iliman Ndiaye — the Everton goalscoring winger whose pace, power and predatory instincts have made him one of the most coveted attackers in the entire Premier League — rejecting new contract after new contract at Goodison Park while waiting for the call he has always known was coming.

Old Trafford is not rebuilding. Old Trafford is reloading.

DEAL ONE: Mateus Fernandes — The £80M Portuguese Prodigy

West Ham have given Mateus Fernandes the green light to leave the club this summer — cleared to go, with the Hammers wanting around £80 million for the 21-year-old. Manchester United and Arsenal have both already made contact with West Ham and are actively weighing up formal bids for the Portuguese international. 

Yet while Arsenal hover cautiously on the fringes, United have gone straight for the jugular. Manchester United are ready to make a bid to bring Mateus Fernandes to Old Trafford. The West Ham United star wants to move to Michael Carrick’s side — which will come as a blow for Manchester City, who were also monitoring the situation closely. 

Fernandes’ agents remain confident that the midfielder will end up at Manchester United. The i Paper revealed that United intend to move for Fernandes in the coming weeks due to his ability to receive the ball across the pitch — providing great competition for their own fledgling talent Kobbie Mainoo. West Ham’s relegated status also drives the 21-year-old’s price tag down, giving United additional negotiating leverage. 

The personal connection between Mateus and Old Trafford goes beyond football tactics and transfer fees. Fernandes plays with Man United attacking midfielder Bruno Fernandes for the Portugal national team and is keen on linking up with his compatriot at Old Trafford.  Two Portuguese midfielders. Two players who have shared a dressing room at international level and spoken openly about their desire to play together at club level. The Bruno Fernandes factor, which proved decisive in Rafael Leao’s choice of United over Real Madrid, is working its magic once again.

There is an immediate stand-off over the fee — West Ham are standing very firm at £80 million and United face a four-club battle. But Fernandes’ representatives are not losing sleep over the negotiation. The player’s mind is made up. United’s determination is absolute. And the gap between the two clubs’ valuations is one that INEOS — with Champions League revenue now guaranteed — has both the means and the motivation to bridge. 

What Mateus Fernandes Brings to Old Trafford

Signed by West Ham from Southampton for £40 million just twelve months ago, Mateus Fernandes became West Ham’s third most expensive signing in their history — behind Lucas Paqueta and Sebastien Haller. The 21-year-old graduated from the Sporting CP academy, spent time on loan at Estoril, and then made 46 appearances for Southampton before his move to the London Stadium — scoring four goals and providing seven assists despite the Saints’ relegation. 

What has followed at West Ham, despite the club’s catastrophic relegation, has been a personal masterclass in elite midfield play. His ability to receive the ball in tight spaces, progress it at pace, and create chances from deep has drawn comparisons to some of the most technically accomplished young midfielders in European football. At just 21, with a first World Cup imminent and the best years of his career stretching gloriously ahead of him, Mateus Fernandes arriving alongside Ederson and Kobbie Mainoo in United’s midfield is the kind of generational investment that changes the trajectory of a club.

DEAL TWO: Iliman Ndiaye — The £69M Winger Who Has Said No to Everyone But United

If the Mateus Fernandes pursuit is a story of mutual desire meeting financial negotiation, the Iliman Ndiaye saga is something altogether more dramatic and emotionally charged. Here is a player who has systematically rejected every attempt by his own club to keep him — not because he is greedy, not because he is disloyal, but because he has already made up his mind about exactly where he wants to play his football next season.

Manchester United are in the running to sign Iliman Ndiaye from Everton this summer — and The Athletic have reported that his current club faces a fight to keep him beyond this window. Ndiaye has decided to reject multiple new contract offers from Everton. The club are likely to place a prohibitive valuation — in line with the €80 million Barcelona paid Newcastle United for Anthony Gordon — on Ndiaye in an attempt to deter suitors. 

United are monitoring the Everton winger as a left-sided forward option — described as a cheaper alternative to Morgan Rogers, with the Aston Villa and England star potentially out of reach financially given Villa’s stubborn stance on his valuation. 

The numbers make Ndiaye’s case almost unanswerable. Since arriving at Goodison Park, the Senegal international has been one of the most consistently devastating wingers in the Premier League — a player capable of scoring and creating goals with equal facility from either flank, blessed with the kind of explosive pace and technical trickery that makes defenders dread facing him.

United have identified the powerful winger as a target for the left side of their attack — the position Michael Carrick has identified as a priority addition this summer. Everton are ready to play hardball when it comes to the sale of one of their top assets, but the player’s own stance on his future gives United an enormous advantage in any negotiation. 

The Four-Club Battle United Are Winning

The competition for both players is fierce and real. Mateus Fernandes has attracted serious interest from Arsenal, Manchester City, Newcastle and Chelsea. Iliman Ndiaye has suitors across the Premier League and beyond. Yet in both cases, the decisive factor — as it has been in every major United signing this summer — is the player’s own preference.

Fernandes’ agents are confident the midfielder will end up at Manchester United. The Portugal international is extremely keen on leaving West Ham for United specifically — not just for a Premier League club, but for Old Trafford. 

And for Ndiaye, the prospect of playing for a Champions League club under a manager rebuilding with genuine ambition — surrounded by the quality of Ederson, Sandro Tonali, Bruno Fernandes, Rafael Leao and Victor Osimhen — is an offer that simply cannot be matched by any of the rival clubs pursuing him.

The Carrick Machine — Now Seven Signings Deep

Stand back and look at what Michael Carrick is assembling at Old Trafford and the scale of the transformation is breathtaking. Ederson confirmed from Atalanta. Sandro Tonali all but done from Newcastle. Gonçalo Ramos completing his move from PSG. Rafael Leao incoming from AC Milan. Victor Osimhen the dream striker from Galatasaray. Mateus Fernandes and Iliman Ndiaye now on the verge of completing a double swoop that adds creativity, goals and pace to every line of the pitch.

This is not a squad being tweaked. This is a squad being fundamentally reimagined — built in the image of a manager who knows exactly what a title-winning team needs, who has the backing of owners willing to invest at the scale required, and who has already proven his ability to attract the best players in Europe to his project.

The agent is in London. The contracts are on the table. The medicals are being scheduled.

Manchester United are coming. And they are coming for everything.