Manchester United's £80m Target: Mateus Fernandes Shines Amid Liverpool's Misfires

Manchester United and Liverpool went shopping in the same market last summer. They walked out with very different receipts.

A detailed ranking of all 189 Premier League signings from last season, compiled by The Athletic, has painted a stark picture of how England’s two biggest clubs operated in the window. United’s business has been quietly vindicated. Liverpool’s, at the top end of the market at least, has been brutally exposed.

And right in the middle of it all sits Mateus Fernandes – West Ham’s shining light in a relegated side and now an £80m midfielder United are seriously weighing up.

United’s four hits, Liverpool’s expensive misfires

United made four major additions. All four landed in the top 40 of the list.

• Matheus Cunha came in at 40th
• Bryan Mbeumo at 38th
• Benjamin Sesko at 29th
• Senne Lammens an eye-catching 9th

Between them, they delivered what every recruitment department craves: immediate impact, upside, and the sense that the squad has been dragged forward, not just padded out.

Liverpool’s headline deals tell a very different story.

The club smashed their transfer record twice, first for Florian Wirtz at £116m, then for Alexander Isak at £125m. On paper, it looked like a statement of intent. On the rankings, it reads like a warning.

Wirtz only just scraped into the top 100 in 97th place. Isak, whose season was ripped apart by injuries, slumped to 172nd out of 189. For that level of outlay, those numbers sting.

The Reds did find more value a little further down the scale. Milos Kerkez emerged as their best-rated signing in 49th, with Hugo Ekitike close behind in 50th. Giorgi Mamardashvili slotted in at 73rd, Freddie Woodman at 89th, Jeremie Frimpong drifted to 119th, and Giovanni Leoni – cruelly cut down by an ACL tear on his debut – ended up 143rd.

At the very top of the list, Granit Xhaka took first place. The former Arsenal midfielder has reinvented himself at Sunderland, driving an extraordinary campaign that saw the club qualify for the Europa League in their first season back in the Premier League. A shrewd, transformative signing – the kind that changes the mood music of an entire club.

At the very bottom, propping up the entire table, was a Liverpool deal that simply collapsed under its own logic.

Elliott loan labelled ‘catastrophic’

Harvey Elliott’s loan move from Liverpool to Aston Villa has been named the worst signing of the 2025/26 Premier League season.

The Athletic did not sugar-coat it, calling it “a catastrophic deal for both clubs and the player.” Villa surged through a superb season, but Elliott barely featured. The report captured it with a sharp metaphor: if Unai Emery was Villa’s brain and John McGinn their heart, Elliott was “their appendix.”

He made just three starts. Emery clearly did not trust him in the key moments. Attempts in January to cut the loan short, or in February to remove the obligation-to-buy clause – triggered after 10 appearances – both collapsed. Elliott reached his ninth appearance in March and then stalled, stuck in limbo as an injury crisis unfolded and he still could not force his way into the manager’s plans.

“Shambolic,” was the verdict on the structure and execution of the deal, all the more damning given Elliott’s obvious talent at 23 and his profile as an attacking midfielder who should be approaching his best years.

For Liverpool, it is the kind of misstep that clogs a pathway and complicates future planning. For Villa, it is a wasted slot in a squad built to compete at the top end. For the player, it is a lost year.

Fernandes shines in a sinking side

At the opposite end of the emotional spectrum sits Mateus Fernandes.

Ranked eighth out of 189, the Portugal international has emerged as one of the standout signings of the season despite West Ham’s relegation. Signed from Southampton for £40m, he walked into a struggling side and took on responsibility that would have daunted more established names.

When Lucas Paqueta left in January, West Ham needed a new heartbeat in midfield. Fernandes stepped into the role of chief playmaker and did not blink.

“Tackles, duels, recoveries, long-range worldies, piercing passes,” was how The Athletic summed up his campaign. It was not just numbers; it was presence. He stitched attacks together, broke up play, and carried a team that was otherwise sliding towards the trapdoor.

Relegation usually drags reputations down with it. Fernandes has gone the other way. The consensus is clear: he is unlikely to be at the London Stadium much longer. Not because he failed, but because he was too good for the chaos around him.

United circle an £80m heir to Bruno?

That is where Manchester United enter the frame.

The club are giving serious thought to a move for Fernandes, who grew up idolising current United captain Bruno Fernandes. The narrative writes itself: a Portuguese playmaker, forged in adversity, stepping into a bigger arena under the shadow of his hero.

West Ham, facing the financial reality of life in the second tier, have set an asking price of around £80m. On paper, that figure looks steep, more than double what they paid a year ago. In practice, their bargaining position is weaker than the number suggests. Relegated clubs rarely dictate the market for long.

TEAMtalk’s information is that Fernandes would love to join United. Personal terms are not expected to be a stumbling block. The real question sits in Old Trafford’s recruitment meetings: is he the right fit for the next iteration of this side, and how far are they willing to push to get him?

United’s recent transfer record, at least by this season’s rankings, offers some encouragement that the days of scattergun spending are easing. Four signings, four hits. Now they stand at a familiar crossroads: double down on a clear plan, or hesitate and watch a coveted midfielder light up someone else’s midfield.

West Ham know they cannot keep him forever. United know these opportunities do not come around often.

Who blinks first?