Man Utd set sights on £134m team-mates to replace Bruno Fernandes

Manchester United have reportedly identified two stars from the same club as potential replacements for Bruno Fernandes, while director of football Jason Wilcox missed out on seven transformative signings during the summer, it has been revealed.

We confirmed earlier on Friday that Fernandes has rejected a second contract offer from Man Utd. The attacking midfielder wants a contract running until June 2030, a demand United have so far refused to meet.

The Red Devils remain confident they will agree fresh terms with their captain, though contingency plans have seemingly been put in place…

Bruno Fernandes replacement targets emerge

The Daily Briefing reported on Friday morning that United and Chelsea are ‘directly communicating’ with Como over a possible deal for Martin Baturina.

The report quotes a source as saying: “Baturina is well-liked by the recruitment staff of Chelsea and Man United.

“They’ve been pushing for this deal for a while and early discussions have taken place with Como.”

However, there is a difference in valuations of the Croatian attacking midfielder. Como want €80million (£67m) to sell, whereas United and Chelsea believe he is worth closer to €60m (£50m).

The Sun, meanwhile, report that United are also ‘monitoring’ Baturina’s Como team-mate Nico Paz amid uncertainty over Fernandes’ long-term future at Old Trafford.

United were keen on Paz before he destroyed them in the Champions League, and that performance has only increased their interest.

The report suggests Mauricio Pochettino’s arrival at United should help their chances of landing his Argentine compatriot Paz.

Crucially, though, Real Madrid have an €80m/£67m buy-back clause for Paz, which would complicate any potential United talks.

Wilcox failures revealed

Wilcox failed to land any of United’s top seven midfield targets before settling for Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans and Carlos Baleba, according to The Athletic.

Wilcox had made signing Elliot Anderson his No 1 objective but did not get close to meeting Nottingham Forest’s demands, allowing Manchester City to complete the deal instead.

Wilcox also missed out on Mateus Fernandes, Sandro Tonali, Aurelien Tchouameni, Alex Scott, Ederson and Ayyoub Bouaddi.

United’s refusal to spend big seriously held them back, as Tottenham Hotspur splashed out on Fernandes and Tonali.

While Baleba is expected to become a very good midfielder for United, there are concerns over the suitability of Santos and Tielemans.

Striker setback

Club Brugge hitman Nicolo Tresoldi has emerged as a striker target for United, but they have been handed a transfer blow.

We revealed in September that United and Spurs are primed to battle for Tresoldi after he wowed their scouts.

But according to Belgian outlet HLN, Brugge will not sell the 22-year-old in January, even if a ‘monster bid’ is made.

As such, United will have to wait until next summer before they can replace Joshua Zirkzee with Tresoldi.

The latter has scored 14 goals in 17 appearances this season and is valued at over €50m (£42m).