Tottenham set to complete signing of West Ham midfielder Mateus Fernandes

Mateus Fernandes is on his way to Spurs.

Tottenham have reached an agreement with West Ham to sign midfielder Mateus Fernandes ahead of Manchester United.

Spurs set their sights on Portugal international Fernandes as a key figure in the club’s much-needed rebuild under Roberto De Zerbi, who masterminded Premier League safety at the expense of West Ham last month.

Fernandes had attracted admirers from across Europe with Real Madrid, Paris St Germain and Manchester United all interested in the 21-year-old.

However, after it emerged as a two-horse race between the English clubs, Tottenham won the race after they agreed to part with a guaranteed £85million for the midfielder.

Former Southampton playmaker Fernandes will become Spurs’ fifth signing of a busy summer and represent the latest change in strategy for the north London outfit under majority owners the Lewis family.

The Lewis family, who run Tottenham’s majority shareholder ENIC, promised to be “all in” to fund the required rebuild to move De Zerbi’s side back up the Premier League table after back-to-back 17th-place finishes.

After Spurs’ previous rigid wage structure under former chairman Daniel Levy was cast aside this year by the Lewis family and chief executive Vinai Venkatesham to secure the additions of Conor Gallagher, Andrew Robertson, Marcos Senesi and Jan Paul van Hecke, Fernandes’ anticipated move would break the club’s previous record transfer of Dominic Solanke for £65m two years ago.