{"id":48485,"date":"2025-04-25T04:52:10","date_gmt":"2025-04-25T04:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/48485\/"},"modified":"2025-04-25T04:52:10","modified_gmt":"2025-04-25T04:52:10","slug":"man-utd-must-consider-ultimate-midfielder-from-southampton-after-relegation-he-already-knows-ruben-amorim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/48485\/","title":{"rendered":"Man Utd must consider \u2018ultimate\u2019 midfielder from Southampton after relegation, he already knows Ruben Amorim"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Manchester United are already starting summer transfer business even as Ruben Amorim attempts to win the Europa League.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Premier League<\/a> campaign has been terribly flat for Manchester United<\/a>, and a bottom-half finish is on the horizon.<\/p>\n

The Europa League has now become the top focus for Ruben Amorim<\/a>, after watching United beat Lyon 5-4 in dramatic fashion<\/a> last week.<\/p>\n

United could secure Champions League football for next season, but Ineos are pressing ahead with transfer plans regardless.<\/p>\n

United are closing in on Matheus Cunha<\/a>, with the Wolverhampton Wanderers ace expected to complete a \u00a362.5million move to Old Trafford.<\/p>\n

Cunha could be United\u2019s first major summer signing, but more business will be coming as United attempt to mould Amorim\u2019s squad.<\/p>\n

\"PhotoPhoto by Robin Jones\/Getty ImagesManchester United must look at Southampton\u2019s Mateus Fernandes<\/strong><\/p>\n

United are in the market for goalkeepers this summer and a homegrown option may be needed with Tom Heaton expected to leave Old Trafford<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Reports suggest that United have considered a move for Aaron Ramsdale<\/a>, with Southampton relegated back down to the Championship.<\/p>\n

Ramsdale will divide opinion having now suffered three relegations from the Premier League, but the Saints have another player United should be tracking.<\/p>\n

Midfielder Mateus Fernandes has emerged as one of few players to really excel in a difficult Southampton campaign.<\/p>\n

The 20-year-old joined Southampton from Sporting last summer and has shown himself to be a well-rounded midfielder.<\/p>\n

Fernandes has racked up 44 tackles, 39 successful dribbles, 30 key passes, 18 interceptions and 14 shots on target whilst playing in a number of different roles.<\/p>\n

Southampton have deployed Fernandes as an attacking midfield, as a box-to-box midfield player and as part of a two-man central midfield in a 3-4-2-1 system \u2013 the exact approach Amorim takes at United.<\/p>\n

Fernandes has been tabbed as an \u2018ultimate Premier League midfielder\u2019 by Saints hero Jo Tessem, whilst speaking to BBC Sport<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is becoming an ultimate Premier League midfielder and clubs are not going to let that go,\u201d said Tessem.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe plays like a Premier League player. He passes like a Premier League player. He is quick like a Premier League player. He conducts himself so well in midfield,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Versatility will be well-appreciated in this United rebuild and Fernandes has already shown the ability to make a difference in a number of different midfield roles.<\/p>\n

Fernandes has so much room to grow at just 20 and Southampton\u2019s relegation means the midfielder will surely fancy a Premier League return \u2013 especially if United came calling.<\/p>\n

Ruben Amorim connection to Mateus Fernandes<\/strong><\/p>\n

United\u2019s preference for looking at younger players will surely put Fernandes on the Old Trafford radar.<\/p>\n

We also can\u2019t ignore that Fernandes played under Amorim at Sporting.<\/p>\n

Fernandes made his senior debut under Amorim in 2022 and spent time on loan at Estoril to develop his game.<\/p>\n

Amorim reluctantly sold Fernandes to Sporting last summer, admitting to A Bola<\/a> that he sacrificed the midfielder in order to keep Goncalo Inacio, Morten Hjulmand and Viktor Gyokeres.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we lost is a player, a young man with a lot of value who, in my opinion, has the characteristics to be a great player, but where choices were made,\u201d said Amorim.<\/p>\n

Fernandes also raved about Amorim earlier this season, telling the Daily Echo that he can be an even better manager than Jose Mourinho.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Ruben can be better than Mourinho in my opinion. He\u2019s a very good coach. He knows the way of football,\u201d said Fernandes.<\/p>\n

Fernandes even admitted that he wears number 18 at Southampton because that is the number Bruno Fernandes wore upon joining United.<\/p>\n

If given the chance to join Amorim and Bruno at Old Trafford, Fernandes would surely make the move \u2013 and he must be a talent on the radar to add more talent to United\u2019s midfielder ranks.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Manchester United are already starting summer transfer business even as Ruben Amorim attempts to win the Europa League.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":48486,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4100],"tags":[873,94,99,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-48485","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-bruno-fernandes","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-ruben-amorim","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114396813462410708","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48485","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48485"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48485\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48486"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}