{"id":46922,"date":"2026-05-08T16:56:39","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T20:56:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/05\/08\/64m-premier-league-star-wants-move-to-manchester-united\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T16:56:39","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T20:56:39","slug":"64m-premier-league-star-wants-move-to-manchester-united","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/05\/08\/64m-premier-league-star-wants-move-to-manchester-united\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00a364m Premier League star wants move to Manchester United"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_74 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/05\/08\/64m-premier-league-star-wants-move-to-manchester-united\/#Manchester_United_boosted_in_race_to_sign_Carlos_Baleva_replacement\" >Manchester United boosted in race to sign Carlos Baleva replacement<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/05\/08\/64m-premier-league-star-wants-move-to-manchester-united\/#Why_Fernandes_is_a_better_deal_than_Baleva_for_Manchester_United\" >Why Fernandes is a better deal than Baleva for Manchester United<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-5' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-5'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-5' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-5'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-5' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/05\/08\/64m-premier-league-star-wants-move-to-manchester-united\/#Ranking_Premier_Leagues_best_midfielders_202526\" >Ranking: Premier League&#8217;s best midfielders (2025\/26)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/05\/08\/64m-premier-league-star-wants-move-to-manchester-united\/#Better_than_Valeva_Manchester_United_hold_contract_talks_with_%E2%80%98worlds_best_DM\" >Better than Valeva: Manchester United hold contract talks with &#8216;world&#8217;s best DM&#8217;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Manchester United are back in the promised land of the Champions League, but it means little if the club doesn&#8217;t really hit the ground running and improve in the competition next season.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- No AdsNinja v10 Client! --><!-- No AdsNinja v10 Client! --><\/p>\n<p>United have only reached the quarter-finals once since 2014, and while they often celebrate their qualification, they ultimately deflate when the time comes.<\/p>\n<p>For example, in the 2020\/21 and 2023\/24 seasons, the Red Devils failed to even make it past the group stage, with the latter being particularly disastrous for Andre Onana and his team.<\/p>\n<p>    In order to avoid a repeat of the 2026\/27 season, INEOS needs to look for suitable reinforcements, especially in the midfield.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- No AdsNinja v10 Client! --><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"man-utd-handed-boost-in-race-to-sign-carlos-baleba-alternative\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Manchester_United_boosted_in_race_to_sign_Carlos_Baleva_replacement\"><\/span>\n                        <strong>Manchester United boosted in race to sign Carlos Baleva replacement<\/strong><br \/>\n               <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>United&#8217;s decision to strengthen their frontline last summer has certainly paid off, with Benjamin Sesco, Matheus Cunha and Brian Mbeumo each scoring 29 goals in the Premier League following their arrivals.<\/p>\n<p>However, the hierarchy at Old Trafford became top-heavy and, although at one point they came close to bringing in Carlos Baleva, both Ruben Amorim and Michael Carrick were desperately lacking in midfield depth.<\/p>\n<p>Personal terms have reportedly been agreed with the Cameroonian, but the \u00a3100m-plus fee from Brighton &#038; Hove Albion proved prohibitive and the 22-year-old has endured some decline following a difficult season with the Seagulls.<\/p>\n<p>    Journalist Ben Jacobs has reported that talks have been underway for weeks over the transfer of West Ham United&#8217;s Matheus Fernandes, and if reports are to be believed, United may now be turning their attention elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p>Encouragingly, Jacobs says the Portuguese sensation is said to be keen to join the Red Devils next season, following discussions with his agent.<\/p>\n<p>    Any deal is likely to depend on the Hammers securing top-flight safety, although previous reports suggested the east London side could demand a transfer fee of around \u20ac75m (about \u00a364m).<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"\">\n<\/h3>\n<p><!-- No AdsNinja v10 Client! --><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"why-fernandes-would-be-a-better-signing-than-baleba-for-man-utd\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_Fernandes_is_a_better_deal_than_Baleva_for_Manchester_United\"><\/span>\n                        <strong>Why Fernandes is a better deal than Baleva for Manchester United<\/strong><br \/>\n               <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Whether the two are linked or not, it is a worrying coincidence that Baleva&#8217;s form has slumped following his link with United, with the mere thought of joining the club seeming to unsettle him.<\/p>\n<div class=\"table-container\">\n<table border=\"1\" cellpadding=\"1\" cellspacing=\"1\" style=\"\" align=\"\" summary=\"\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th colspan=\"3\" scope=\"col\" style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>Baleva &#8211; 24\/25 vs 25\/26<\/p>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>24\/25<\/p>\n<\/th>\n<th style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>Statistics (*per game)<\/p>\n<\/th>\n<th style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>25\/26<\/p>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p><strong>34<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>game<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>28<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p><strong>3<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>the goal<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p><strong>1<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>assist<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p><strong>0.6<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>Key pass*<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>0.2<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p><strong>88%<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>Pass accuracy*<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>86%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>8.0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>Ball lost*<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p><strong>5.2<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p><strong>2.3<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>Tackle*<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>1.1<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p><strong>1.4<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>Intercept*<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>0.9<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p><strong>5.8<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>collect*<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>3.0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p><strong>55%<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>Total Win Duels*<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>49%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<p>Although he was substituted at half-time three times in the first seven games of the season, he has only started 21 games in the top flight so far, a significant decrease from 31 games in 2024\/25.<\/p>\n<p>Once he looked like a \u00a3100m player, but the former Lille man has been overshadowed by other bright lights in the Premier League, including Fernandes.<\/p>\n<p>West Ham&#8217;s young starlet may have a different profile as a midfielder, but in recent weeks he has featured in the top two of midfield alongside Tomas Soucek, although in the past he has typically played in a more advanced role.<\/p>\n<p>Described in the past as a &#8220;huge talent&#8221; by analyst Ben Mattinson, Fernandes emerged as the star of a difficult season at the London Stadium during his loan spell at Estoril from Sporting CP, as part of an exciting trio alongside Crisencio Somerville and Jarrod Bowen.<\/p>\n<div class=\"display-card  article article-card small  no-badge  active-content                              \" data-include-community-rating=\"false\" id=\"ranked-the-best-midfielders-in-the-premier-league\" data-nosnippet=\"\">\n<p>                        <\/p>\n<p>                    <span data-field=\"label\" class=\"article-card-label\"><label>related<\/label><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"w-display-card-content regular article-block\">\n<h5 class=\"display-card-title \"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Ranking_Premier_Leagues_best_midfielders_202526\"><\/span>\n<p>\t\t\tRanking: Premier League&#8217;s best midfielders (2025\/26)<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<p class=\"display-card-excerpt\">Is anyone approaching Bruno Fernandes now?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The 21-year-old, who joined from relegated Southampton last summer in a \u00a342m deal, has since scored six goals and an assist in this Premier League campaign, averaging an impressive average of one key pass per game.<\/p>\n<p>For comparison, Valeva has neither scored nor assisted all season, averaged just 0.2 key passes and has made little contribution offensively, even when playing deep.<\/p>\n<p>    United need to fill the gap left by free scorer Casemiro (nine goals this season), but Fernandes also has the better passing accuracy (88% vs. 86%), which doesn&#8217;t necessarily bode well.<\/p>\n<p>The West Ham man has appeared to be dominant outside of possession after switching to a box-to-box role under manager Nuno Espirito Santo, averaging 3.8 tackles and interceptions per game and recovering the ball 5.1 times per game.<\/p>\n<p>    This is a huge improvement compared to Bareva&#8217;s own returns, which last time he averaged 3.7 and 5.3, whereas left-footers averaged just 2.0 and 3.0 respectively in the same two metrics.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps it&#8217;s just a sign of the decline of Moises Caicedo&#8217;s replacement at the Amex, but while it&#8217;s hard to argue that Fernandes is currently a player on the rise, his versatility is also an attractive quality at a time when the Red Devils need to fill multiple holes in midfield.<\/p>\n<p>    By all accounts, he has already received congratulations from compatriot Bruno Fernandes, and this signing is sure to attract attention as the summer progresses.<\/p>\n<div class=\"display-card  article article-card small  no-badge  active-content                              \" data-include-community-rating=\"false\" id=\"better-than-baleba-man-utd-hold-talks-to-sign-aurelien-tchouameni\" data-nosnippet=\"\">\n<p>                        <img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"440\" height=\"248\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Man United-Barreba-Carrick\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/static0.footballfancastimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/man-utd-baleba-carrick.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=220&amp;h=124&amp;dpr=2\" src=\"https:\/\/static0.footballfancastimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/man-utd-baleba-carrick.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=220&amp;h=124&amp;dpr=2\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                    <span data-field=\"label\" class=\"article-card-label\"><label>related<\/label><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"w-display-card-content regular article-block\">\n<h5 class=\"display-card-title \"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Better_than_Valeva_Manchester_United_hold_contract_talks_with_%E2%80%98worlds_best_DM\"><\/span>\n<p>\t\t\tBetter than Valeva: Manchester United hold contract talks with &#8216;world&#8217;s best DM&#8217;<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<p class=\"display-card-excerpt\">Manchester United are interested in several midfielders, including Carlos Baleva.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Manchester United are back in the promised land of the Champions League, but it means little if the club doesn&#8217;t really hit the ground running and improve in the competition next season. United have only reached the quarter-finals once since 2014, and while they often celebrate their qualification, they ultimately deflate when the time comes. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46923,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[9197,40,97,106,372,96,86,107],"class_list":{"0":"post-46922","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-64m","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-league","11":"tag-manchester","12":"tag-move","13":"tag-premier","14":"tag-star","15":"tag-united"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46922","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46922"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46922\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46923"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}