Why Man Utd want to sign £50m World Cup star

What an achievement for Bruno Fernandes, perhaps the crowning moment of his Manchester United career to date.

No, not having finally won over a certain Roy Keane, but the 31-year-old’s record-breaking 2025/26 campaign, having chalked up 21 Premier League assists to leave Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne in his wake.

Individual accolades are all well and good, of course, but what really matters are major honours, something that has been distinctly lacking from Fernandes’ United career so far.

With Michael Carrick now at the helm, there does appear to be stability again at Old Trafford, not least with the skipper in line to renew his contract after so much speculation a year ago.

Now, the priority is to build a winning side around the Portuguese genius, with work seemingly underway on that front.

Man Utd open talks over signing World Cup star

Elliot Anderson is Manchester City-bound, while Mateus Fernandes has been snapped up by free-spending Tottenham Hotspur, even while still speaking of his admiration for compatriot, Bruno.

The signings of Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko in 2025 suggested that United’s pulling power is still very much alive and well, although it’s been a stickier start to the current window, having seemingly been blown out of the water financially.

Much of the focus has been on the midfield unit thus far, although a new left-winger is also on the agenda, even amid Marcus Rashford’s expected return to Manchester.

Whether the Englishman departs or not could have a bearing on any potential incomings in that department, with journalist Ben Jacobs providing the latest on INEOS’ pursuit of Crysencio Summerville.

The suggestion is that the Red Devils have opened club-to-club talks with West Ham United regarding a deal for the Dutchman, albeit with those enquiries said to be purely exploratory at this stage.

A bid could arrive, however, although that is likely to depend on Rashford’s situation, after Barcelona shunned the chance to sign him permanently.

In terms of an asking price for Summerville, it has been suggested that he could command a fee of around £50m.

Why Summerville signing would be perfect for Fernandes

If Rashford is to stay at Old Trafford next season, there could well be a chance to reignite his fruitful partnership with Fernandes, the pair having so often worked in tandem to devastating effect in previous years.

Under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, in particular, that counter-attacking side was built around Fernandes finding the Englishman in space in behind, with Rashford combining for more goals with the midfielder than any other player in his career so far (26).

The issue is, bringing the England forward back into the fold appears somewhat of a risk considering how things ended 18 months ago, with ‘Rashy’ cast aside by Ruben Amorim after one misdemeanour too many.

Let’s face it, he’s already had his time in a United shirt, with it evidently clear that Rashford’s priority would have been to return to Camp Nou, had the LaLiga outfit not plumped for Anthony Gordon instead.

And so, bringing in Summerville as the new man on the left instead could see Fernandes strike up a new partnership moving forward, with the Netherlands international such a frightening, blistering talent in his own right.

At the World Cup, for instance, the 24-year-old recorded two goals and two assists despite only starting twice for Ronald Koeman’s side, notably rifling home from range against Japan in the opening group game.

Comfortable on either flank, the Hammers star is a real box of tricks, someone who can stretch a defence with his remarkable turn of pace and athleticism.

Among those in his position in Europe’s top five leagues last season, for instance, he ranked in the top 20% for received through balls per 90, highlighting why he could be a player for Fernandes to look to in behind.

At present, Matheus Cunha’s best work appears to be when dropping deep to get on the ball, leaving Fernandes without that out-ball on the left flank.

Maybe Rashford can provide that, although this isn’t the player who hit 30 goals in 2022/23 in all competitions. Indeed, even amid a creditable season in Catalonia, there was a clear regression in terms of his ball-carrying prowess, having averaged just 0.9 successful dribbles per game.

Summerville, meanwhile, averaged 1.6 in that regard in a struggling West Ham side, representing a winger who will relentlessly drive at his opposite man, be it off the left or right.

Having that electric outlet again should help to stretch the pitch and create space for Fernandes to thrive in, with there a chance that this latest 21-assist season might be built on again under Carrick’s watch next term.