Man Utd's €100m transfer mistake after scout ignored

Robin Bairner

• 5 Apr 2023 09:58 BST
• 3 min read

Manchester United missed out on the chance to sign Chelsea star Enzo Fernandez well before he played for the Blues.

United had the opportunity to sign Enzo for a snip of the €121 million fee that the Blues paid for him back when he was turning out for River Plate in South America.

Indeed, a scout was being regularly dispatched to watch his matches and notably saw him score a brilliant goal in a Copa Libertadores victory over Fortaleza.

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At that point, Enzo had a release clause of just €20m in his contract, which Benfica were ultimately the club to trigger last summer. Six months on, he was moving for more than €100m more the Portuguese turned in the quickest mega-profit in footballing history.

So why exactly did Man Utd ignore their scouts and miss out on him?

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Man Utd's Enzo Fernandez blunder

The transition period between management would not have helped. Out went Ralf Rangnick and in came Erik ten Hag from Ajax with his own ideas on how he wanted his team to play.

Frenkie de Jong, too, might have proven a factor. Man Utd spent the summer apparently transfixed on the Barcelona midfielder, who Ten Hag at coached in Amsterdam. This obsession saw them miss out on other opportunities in the transfer market, of which Enzo at €20m might not have been the most apparent at the time.

Certainly, they will be kicking themselves now, with the 22-year-old World Cup winner having made an instantly positive impression at Chelsea.

In a struggling team, he has been named man of the match three times since a January transfer from Benfica. He has turned out 11 times for the Blues and has two assists to his name.

Man Utd, who ultimately signed Casemiro from Real Madrid but are still on the lookout for a midfielder in the Enzo Fernandez mould, are only left to reflect on a transfer bargain that they missed out on.