Manchester United have stolen a march on Premier League champions Arsenal in the highly-contested race to sign West Ham midfielder Mateus Fernandes.
Mikel Arteta had earmarked the exceptionally-gifted Portuguese international as a long-term project to bolster the Gunners’ squad ahead of the new season.
However, reports indicate that Fernandes has personally chosen a move to Old Trafford over North London.
West Ham are holding out for an uncompromising £80m fee to manage their post-relegation financial realities, but United’s INEOS-backed hierarchy are confident they can structurally finalise a multi-million package early next week.
Want more breaking news and thought-provoking opinion from original sources? Add Footiebuzz as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust.