Man Utd are focusing on the signing of Mateus Fernandes from West Ham, but if they miss out on the 21-year-old they might have a new option.
Manchester United have embraced the data revolution under Ineos, but even amid all the numbers and the algorithms, there is still room for good old-fashioned scouting and the eye test, and one potential midfield addition could have a big supporter at Old Trafford.
United are still working on a deal to make Mateus Fernandes their second midfield signing of the summer, with Tottenham providing some competition for a player West Ham value at £80million. If they land Fernandes, United will set their sights lower for a third midfield addition this summer, if required.
But if the deal for Fernandes becomes too expensive, just as Elliot Anderson did when Manchester City made a bid of more than £120million, then alternatives will be sought and reports in Germany have claimed there is interest in Borussia Dortmund midfielder Felix Nmecha.
The 25-year-old is enjoying an excellent World Cup and looks an all-round midfielder that could slot nicely into the United set-up, and he won praise from Gary Neville on ITV during the coverage of Germany’s win against the Ivory Coast.
“The more he plays like he did the other night the more expensive he’ll get,” Neville said. “But at the moment, we hear Manchester United are being quoted £100 million for the West Ham boy Fernandes, so they’re going to have to be looking around this tournament and parts of Europe.
“He looked outstanding the other night, it looked like he had absolutely everything.”
Nmecha has something else going for him at Old Trafford, and that is where the eye test comes in. He spent a dozen years at Manchester City’s academy and was there at the same time as Jason Wilcox.
Wilcox is now United’s director of football, but he was a coach at City’s academy while Nmecha was there and eventually became the head of the academy, so he knows plenty about the German international and was well aware of his talents while at the Etihad.
Nmecha was actually released by City in the summer of 2021, having made just three first-team appearances, but he has gone to another level on his return to the Bundesliga, first with Wolfsburg and now with Dortmund, and if his World Cup continues on this trajectory, he could attract some serious transfer interest this summer.
His brother Lukas has already returned to the Premier League with Leeds, having also been at City. Felix looks like a Premier League midfielder in the making with his strength and running power, and perhaps he will soon return to England as well.
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