Tottenham Ready to Blow Man Utd Out of the Water for Mateus Fernandes Deal

He studied journalism at the University of South Wales and published a football book, named Bluebird Heaven, around the same time with Pitch Publishing.

Since then, Jamie has continued to specialise in football journalism, PR and football-related Spanish translation. He has worked with a number of media companies, including Reach PCL, Iconic Group and many more over a decade-long career. Sign in to your GiveMeSport account Tottenham are said to be leading Manchester United in the bid to land West Ham midfielder Mateus Fernandes this summer. The young midfielder is at the centre of one of the transfer sagas of the summer in the Premier League, having had a superb campaign of last for the Hammers.

West Ham's relegation only confirmed that Fernandes' future would be elsewhere, and the Iron are said to be asking for big money to sell their midfield talent. United and Spurs are now doing battle for the Portugal international's signature, with the former needing to replace Casemiro, while the latter have allowed Yves Bissouma to leave at the end of his contract.

The race to land Fernandes has been hotting up this week, and according to one journalist, it is Spurs who are leading the race thanks to an 'aggressive approach'.

Speaking on The United Stand, the Daily Mail's Mike Keegan said: "Obviously there is the situation with Fernandes at West Ham, who they really like. But what I've heard recently is Spurs have come in, and Spurs are surprisingly, and not just with United, but across the Premier League, how it was described to me, is that they have been really aggressive with the amount of money they are willing to spend.

"I don't know if that's nearly getting relegated frightening the life out of them, they have a manager now who is really forthright, who will look to get his own way. I know that when he got in at the door, it was on his terms. So maybe what we are seeing now is 'I'll keep you in the Premier League, but you've got to back me in the summer.'

"My information is that Spurs are already at the higher end of what United are happy to pay for him (Fernandes). There is still a belief that he wants to come and play for United, but you know as well as I do, it's not just players, there are agents involved, and it tends to be that the player goes to whoever is offering the most money."

The defining aspect for Spurs is that they have already tried to sign Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali for £75million, only to see their bid rejected. The Magpies are said to want £80-£90million for the Italian this summer, so for Spurs, it's logical for them to go and offer £75million for Fernandes if they believe he is a close second in terms of their targets this summer.

West Ham are reportedly demanding at least £70million in any case, and the United interest is always going to drive up the price. As for United, they seem to have a set price in mind, and the Tottenham interest might end up making Fernandes a player they move on from.

It is a huge boost for Manchester United as other clubs circle one of their top transfer targets