Man Utd are in the market for a Casemiro replacement this summer, but face competition to sign Mateus Fernandes.
It’s a skill to know when to walk away from a transfer target and Manchester United may be getting close to that point with Matues Fernandes.
United identified an opportunity with Fernandes following West Ham’s relegation, but Tottenham have come to the table, and the noise from the capital suggests they are willing to meet the £85million asking price.
Tottenham can offer higher wages to Fernandes. United are not out of the running for the midfielder, and the player’s preference will be decisive, but a sensible club must have a contingency plan.
That’s how United landed on Fernandes as a target this summer in the first place. Elliot Anderson was the priority, but it became clear that Nottingham Forest’s valuation would make a deal impossible to do.
The numbers from last season alone show Fernandes would be a decent second choice to Anderson. He won more tackles and made more accurate switches of play. He wasn’t far behind Anderson on ground duels won, possessions won, and possessions won in the defensive third.
The data boffins will have to crunch the numbers again if Fernandes cannot be signed, though, and perhaps Borussia Dortmund’s rising star Felix Nmecha should be in the running to make a switch to United.
Nmecha has started both of Germany’s games at the World Cup this summer, making a strong impression. He scored and assisted against Curacao, and assisted against the Ivory Coast.
“The more he plays like he did the other night, the more expensive he’ll get,” said Gary Neville after Germany’s win over the Ivory Coast. “He looked outstanding the other night. It looked like he had absolutely everything.”
Ian Wright praised Nmecha, saying: “When you look at him, he breaks lines, he gets into the box, he’s got Kimmich to come in and fill in for him. He can play as a No.8 or No.10, we can see he can finish, you can see why teams are interested in him. He’s got everything.”
Nmecha’s varied skillset in midfield makes him an attractive option. He predominantly played as a defensive midfielder for Dortmund last season, but as Wright observed, he has the quality to go forward.
Fernandes has a varied skillset as well. He excelled playing in a deeper midfield role for West Ham, but he played as a No.8 for Southampton and played as a No.10 during his time in Portugal.
You should never make a move for a player on the back of a few positive performances at the World Cup, but Nmecha’s quality has been obvious in his displays for Dortmund in the Bundesliga and the Champions League.
If United do seriously consider Nmecha as an alternative to Fernandes, they will be drawn to the fact that he’s a homegrown player, as Premier League rules require at least eight players in a 25-man squad to be homegrown.
The Premier League’s definition of a homegrown player is any player who has been trained by a club in the United Kingdom for at least three years before their 21st birthday.
The Champions League’s definition is slightly different, as UEFA requires clubs to register eight homegrown players, however, four of those have to be ‘club-trained’, while the other four can be trained by other English academies. A club homegrown player is someone who has been in the club for three years between the ages of 15 and 21.
Nmecha came through Manchester City’s academy before returning to the country where he was born, Germany, in the summer of 2021 on a free transfer. He impressed for Wolfsburg and joined Dortmund two years later.
City can sometimes allow talent from their academy to slip through their net. Nmecha was viewed as a decent prospect, but the extent of his improvement may surprise staff at the club.
The City link with Nmecha means Jason Wilcox is familiar with him. Wilcox is currently United’s director of football, but he previously spent almost six years working as City’s academy director.
The homegrown status and having a link with Wilcox are two big ticks in Nmecha’s box with a view to a potential transfer to Old Trafford. Those will not be the factors United solely base a decision on, but they are advantageous.
Nmecha knows Manchester well, having spent his formative years in the city, and joining United from Dortmund would be a step up. It’s also worth noting that his older brother Lukas returned to Germany after progressing through City’s academy, then came back to England.
Lukas Nmecha scored six Premier League goals for Leeds last season. Felix would obviously be nearer his brother, with who he has a strong relationship, if he moved to Manchester this summer.
The move would make a lot of sense for United, and a lot of sense for Nmecha should Fernandes move out of reach.
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