Mateus Fernandes chose to join Tottenham over Man United for 'financial' reasons
Manchester United did the right thing by pulling away from their move to sign West Ham United midfielder Mateus Fernandes.
That is according to former Everton chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who believes the Red Devils didn't allow themselves to "overpay" for the player as he believes they have in the past.
United were only willing to pay £80million for Fernandes and a further £5m in add-ons, and he instead joined Tottenham, who paid the full £85m upfront.
However, Wyness has hailed the Old Trafford outfit for showing "discipline" with their spending, rather than allowing themselves to be "squeezed into a corner."
He is adamant that the club have not been sensible with their transfer business in previous years, and their decision not to up their offer for Fernandes was a sign that they are learning.
United spent several weeks chasing the Portuguese in the early stages of the summer, but Wyness has now questioned whether he ever truly wanted the move.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe hailed for Mateus Fernandes miss
Everton’s former chief Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes that Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Co. deserve credit for not being sucked into paying over the odds for Fernandes.
He urged the club to show similar caution in their future transfer pursuits, rather than allowing selling clubs to exploit their "power and strength."
Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider's Inside Track podcast, he explained his doubt as to whether Fernandes was even the right player for the Red Devils.
"I take it as a big positive that United are actually trying to be sensible for once and not get squeezed into a corner and overspend," Wyness said.
"I actually give Ratcliffe and his team a tick for that one in terms of pulling out. Look, if Fernandes didn't want to come to United at that price, then you don't want that player. He's really got to want to come to your club.
"Why he wanted to go to Spurs, it seems like it could have been financial, and also staying in London could have been a big factor as well.
"Given the power and the strength they've got, I believe United have overpaid for a lot of players, and they've scouted badly and made many mistakes, as we all know.
"But in this case, it showed a little bit of discipline, and I think they need more of it. So actually I'd give United a tick for passing on him."
Man United's updated Alex Scott stance
Former United chief scout Mick Brown told Football Insider earlier this week that his former club remain undecided over whether to move for Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott.
The ex-recruitment man noted that the Manchester giants are already working their way down their list of midfield targets, having missed out on Fernandes, Elliot Anderson and Sandro Tonali already.
Scott is in talks with Bourneouth over a potential new deal at the Vitality Stadium, but any agreement in that department is expected to come with a release clause.
Brown is adamant that United remain "strong admirers" of the 22-year-old, but are not yet ready to fully committ to a move for him.