Amorim 'wants' Championship midfielder after Baleba blow as Ornstein reveals price tag

Ruben Amorim ‘wants’ Manchester United to sign Southampton’s Mateus Fernandes after the Red Devils were dealt a blow in their bid to sign top midfield target Carlos Baleba.

United have already signed Matheus Cunha (£62.5m), Bryan Mbeumo (£65m), Benjamin Sesko (£74m) and Diego Leon (£7m) this summer despite Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s insistence that they’re short on cash.

And reports suggest they still want to bring in a goalkeeper and central midfielder before the window closes on September 1.

Brighton’s Baleba is reportedly seen as the ‘perfect’ midfielder by Amorim and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano brought an update on the Red Devils chase of the Seagulls star on Tuesday, with United looking to “understand the final official cost” before making a bid.

Romano said: “They would also like to know the actual cost because with Brighton, it’s never easy to negotiate, and they are very good at negotiations.

“So in this context, they are having with the agents of the player, they are waiting to understand how much it will cost, because the rumour in the industry is something around £120million.

“But at the moment, Manchester United are still waiting to understand the final official cost for Baleba – to understand when and how to try to make a bid, and to try to approach Brighton for Baleba.

“For sure, the player is keen on the move, and the player is not closing doors to Manchester United even without European football. Baleba is keen on joining Manchester United, and now it will depend on the two clubs. My understanding is that Manchester United want to try.”

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But The Telegraph claimed on Wednesday that although Baleba ‘is the midfielder that United’s Ineos hierarchy would wish to sign’, Brighton’s valuation of ‘more than £100m’ means the deal is a non-starter.

Brighton, ‘as a trading club would have to listen to offers at the kind of level that would get close to the club record £115m fee Chelsea paid for Moises Caicedo’ and are aware that Baleba will be ‘the next major sale’, but he is ‘priced above what United would be prepared to pay this summer’.

And talkSPORT journalist Alex Crook (via GIVEMESPORT) claims Amorim ‘wants’ United to sign Fernandes to bolster his midfield with a deal for Baleba looking unlikely.

West Ham have already tried to prise the 21-year-old away from St Mary’s, as The Athletic’s David Ornstein revealed on Tuesday.

He wrote on X: ‘Southampton reject West Ham United bid for Mateus Fernandes. #WHUFC offer worth up to £30 including add-ons rejected immediately without counter. #SaintsFC value 21yo attacking midfielder at £50/60m – no more talks unless clubs get closer @TheAthleticFC’

The Portuguese midfielder accumulated more minutes than any other U21 player in what was his debut Premier League season before being relegated with Southampton and Amorim is said to be a ‘big fan’ of his compatriot.

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