Manchester United are continuing to focus on making Mateus Fernandes their next signing of the summer, but are in no rush to conclude a deal with West Ham United. There has been no formal bid submitted yet for the 21-year-old midfielder, with the Hammers slapping a price tag of at least £80million on his head, despite relegation from the Premier League.
Key Date: June 30
One key date to watch is the end of June, when the accounting period for the 2025/26 season ends for the Premier League and the EFL, and by which clubs must have balanced the books. Selling players will be a necessity for some teams in the final 10 days or so of the month. That could be the case for West Ham, having posted an accounting loss of £104.2million for the last financial year. When announcing those results in February, the financial report made it clear that "further player trading" will be required even if the club avoids relegation from the Premier League.
Having seen the worst-case scenario come to pass, the club are likely to face a cash shortfall this summer and will have to sell players, quite probably before June 30, to avoid the risk of breaching either Premier League or EFL financial regulations. West Ham might hope there are other players they can sell, but Fernandes looks like their most sellable asset this summer, and there is a reason United aren't rushing to make their opening offer. West Ham could yet find themselves under pressure to do a deal before the end of this month, which would strengthen United's hand in negotiations.
Rashford's 'Release' Clause
There has been a lot of talk this week about the release clause in Marcus Rashford's United contract, but Notebook can reveal it's actually a gentleman's agreement between Rashford and the club, rather than a cast-iron clause. The 28-year-old signed his last contract in July 2023, at a time when he had just scored 30 goals in a season and looked like he was about to become one of the world's best forwards. That deal is the reason he was able to negotiate a salary of £325,000-a-week, and it's why the idea of writing a release clause of £40million into a contract at that stage would have made no sense, and would have been activated almost immediately.
Instead, United quoted Aston Villa £40million to sign Rashford on a permanent deal when he joined them on loan in January 2025, at a time when his Old Trafford career unravelled. Rashford and his camp have been made aware that £40million is the price at which United would say yes to a transfer, unless Manchester City or Liverpool were the clubs doing the bidding. One move that has been ruled out is another loan to Barcelona, but only to Barcelona. While United are focusing on a permanent sale, there is a view that could change late in the window if an attractive enough loan offer was made, either with a strong option or obligation to buy. But after the acrimony of last season, United are only prepared to listen to permanent offers from the Nou Camp, and not another temporary move. For now, United are expecting Rashford back at Carrington around three weeks after the end of England's World Cup, at which point he will train with the first team and will be available to Michael Carrick for pre-season friendlies.
Malacia's Next Move
Three senior players will officially leave United on June 30 and all of them are looking for new clubs. Casemiro is set to join Inter Miami, while there is interest in Jadon Sancho as he looks to rebuild his career. It's an even bigger summer for Tyrell Malacia, who suffered terrible luck with injuries during his time at Old Trafford and was desperate to leave in search of first-team football last summer and in January. Malacia was unfairly shunted into Ruben Amorim's bomb squad last summer, but he was never an issue at Carrington and just wanted to play. He almost moved to Turkey in January and was ready to jump on a flight, only for the move to be ruled out.
That remains an option, with several clubs now showing an interest in the 26-year-old, who has cut short his summer holidays to undergo an intensive overseas training camp in the sun. Malacia played just 15 minutes of first-team football last season and wants to make sure he is physically ready to go when he joins a new club. He is in no rush to find new employment and is willing to take his time this summer to pick the right option, aware of how big his next move is.
Mount's Pre-Season
Mason Mount finished the season with a couple of games as a No. 6 for United, but with the club strengthening in midfield this summer, he knows he has a battle on his hands to force his way into the side next season. After falling out of the England picture, Mount has been using his summer wisely and this week he rocked up at seventh-tier club Chatham Town, in Kent, to undergo a fitness season.
Pitch Relaid
A few pictures of the Old Trafford pitch being dug up started appearing on social media this week, with supporters on stadium tours noticing the hallowed turf had now gone. United are relaying the pitch for the first time in 14 years, with the aim to improve player welfare and water drainage, which might be helpful during those notoriously wet Manchester winters.
Amorim Reunion
United have had a pre-season friendly with Wroclaw on the calendar for at least a couple of months, even though the game was only officially confirmed 10 days ago. It's going to be interesting timing now, with the news this week that Ruben Amorim is the new head coach of the Rossoneri, taking his first management role since leaving Manchester six months ago. Amorim's spell at United ended in acrimony and a serious breakdown in relations with director of football Jason Wilcox. While the view from inside Old Trafford was made clear at the time, the Portuguese has kept his counsel. The 41-year-old hasn't spoken about his time at United since that final, explosive press conference against Leeds. The friendly in Poland has no pre-match media requirements, but there will be the chance for Amorim to talk after the game and you can be sure there will be plenty of journalists ready to listen to what he has to say.
Dispatch from Carrington
A World Cup summer always brings a different rhythm, and that is no different this year. While transfers are still happening and clubs are still trying to do business, much of the focus at the moment is on events across the pond. The rapid deal that took Marc Cucurella to Madrid showed things can still develop, but generally, players are keen to try and stay in their national team bubble during the tournament. Conducting business can be a little bit harder during the tournament, and it is inevitable that things will slow, especially when more nations than ever are at the moment, which means it's taking up more of the game's bandwidth, with more agents and executives in the United States as well.
Quote of the Week
"It's a huge privilege for us to have Cristiano as a compatriot, a teammate and a player who can take us closer to winning the World Cup. I think we can always learn from him. He's shown his resilience throughout his career. He has that winning mentality, he is never satisfied with what he's achieved, and he always strives for more." Bruno Fernandes was full of praise for Cristiano Ronaldo before Portugal got their World Cup campaign underway. He was full of frustration after Ronaldo took a chance off him during their unconvincing draw with DR Congo. They have always looked an uneasy fit on the pitch and who out of Ronaldo or Fernandes emerges as the leader of this team could be key in North America.
What to Look Out for Next Week
England play their second World Cup game against Ghana on Tuesday night. Kobbie Mainoo didn't get off the bench against Croatia, and Jude Bellingham and Reece James were used in deep midfield positions ahead of him. But Marcus Rashford pressed his case for a start, and if he leapfrogs Antony Gordon and performs again, it would be good news for United.
