Manchester United officials have already decided on their new number one midfield target after being emphatically beaten in the race to Mateus Fernandes\u2019 signature by Tottenham Hotspur, and in the determination to still sign two more midfielders this summer, a new six-man wishlist has emerged.<\/p>\n
The Red Devils were agonisingly beaten to the signature of top target Fernandes on Tuesday evening after it emerged that the player is to join Tottenham instead, this piece here exclusively revealing the three reasons why Spurs managed to beat United to his signature<\/a> \u2013 and it\u2019s not for the reasons you might expect.<\/p>\n Thankfully, Manchester United already had contingency plans in place in case they missed out on Fernandes \u2013 and now that has come to pass, the Red Devils, led by director of football Jason Wilcox, are now ready to pull the trigger on a push to sign their next top target.<\/p>\n Indeed, per journalist Ben Jacobs, United are now ready to turn their focus towards Bournemouth\u2019s Alex Scott<\/a>, though it could take as much as \u00a380m to prise him out of Bournemouth, who are making it very clear they don\u2019t want to sell.<\/p>\n Posting on X<\/a>, Jacobs explained: \u2018Manchester United set to explore Alex Scott after missing out on Mateus Fernandes.<\/p>\n \u2018Spurs to pay \u00a385m for Fernandes, a figure #MUFC were not prepared to meet.<\/p>\n \u2018Fernandes never communicated to either club a sole preference, leaving it to both to negotiate with West Ham.<\/p>\n \u2018Bournemouth want Scott to sign a new deal and are prepared to offer him a release clause within in.<\/p>\n \u2018They value Scott around \u00a380m. Arsenal, Manchester City, Spurs and Chelsea other clubs to watch.<\/p>\n \u2018Arsenal has already been directly informed on Bournemouth\u2019s stance.\u2019<\/p>\n Indeed, TEAMtalk has already revealed United have already enquired about Scott\u2019s availability, receiving a very blunt response from the Cherries.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Man Utd sent instant message over approach for Alex Scott as INEOS face double transfer pain<\/a><\/p>\n Man Utd exploring transfer moves for six new midfield options<\/p>\n With Scott seen as a difficult transfer to pull off, Jacobs has named the other players who also make up their midfielder wishlist this summer.<\/p>\n He added: \u2018#MUFC also have Aurelien Tchouam\u00e9ni and Carlos Baleba on their list, and Spurs and Manchester City target Sandro Tonali is appreciated.<\/p>\n \u2018Cost of deal would need to drop for #MUFC to proceed.<\/p>\n \u2018Sander Berge is another name discussed.\u2019<\/p>\n In addition to that, TEAMtalk sources have insisted that the club has already made contact with Borussia Dortmund over the availability of Felix Nmecha and have been encouraged that the Germany star is \u2018interested in returning to England\u2019, with a transfer deemed \u2018very realistic\u2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n United\u2019s transfer plans, though, have sparked two different responses from some of their former stars.<\/p>\n Paul Scholes is adamant United need to go big to beat the likes of Tottenham, Man City and Arsenal to the signing of Tonali<\/a>.<\/p>\n Rio Ferdinand, meanwhile, is insistent that United find a way to sign Real Madrid star Tchouam\u00e9ni.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Man United are holding the money back for one man, and that\u2019s [Aurelien] Tchouameni,\u201d\u00a0Ferdinand said on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIf he becomes available in this market, Man United are not gonna miss \u2013 they can\u2019t afford to miss with that one.\u201d<\/p>\n While the situation is now a messy one for United and seemingly one without real intent or direction, our sources have insisted the club are still adamant they will sign TWO more midfielders this summer<\/a>, despite a cruel injury to Manuel Ugarte which has ended plans to sell the Uruguayan this summer.<\/p>\n As part of those plans, United will shelve plans to sign a new left-sided attacker, and will now look to reintegrate Marcus Rashford into Michael Carrick\u2019s set-up<\/a>, with Fabrizio Romano explaining exactly how that might happen\u2026<\/p>\n