The Old Trafford hierarchy is treating the 25-year-old as its most serious midfield target of the winter window, according to reporting that surfaced this weekend in the Manchester Evening News and was picked up across the German press.
United are described as the most persistent of the Premier League clubs sniffing around Nmecha since the summer, and the first to escalate the interest into a board-to-board conversation.
The number attached to the story is £86m, the sterling equivalent of the €100m Dortmund would want to hear before opening genuine negotiations. That is some way below the €120m ask Dortmund floated earlier in the summer, and it would still be one of the largest midfield outlays in the club’s history.
Dortmund see him as central, not sellable
BVB have no intention of losing Nmecha mid-season. Sporting director Sebastian Kehl tied him to a new contract in March that runs until June 2030, and made the reasoning clear in the club’s own announcement.
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“Felix has become a very important part of our team. He always finds creative solutions, even when under pressure,” Kehl said.
Managing director Lars Ricken doubled down at the same event.
“He identifies completely with Borussia Dortmund and is a key component of our strategic planning for the squad,” Ricken said.
That contract also carries release clauses, though neither one helps United in the short term. The Bild-sourced figures put the exit price at €80m from 2027, dropping to €70m in 2028. Prising him out this January would mean pushing Dortmund off their public “not for sale” line and paying a premium to do it.
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United not alone in the race
Newcastle have circled Nmecha since the summer, at one point sounding out a package built around a player swap plus cash. Manchester City, where Nmecha came through the academy before moving to Wolfsburg in 2021, and Liverpool have also been linked in recent weeks.
Michael Carrick, confirmed as permanent head coach for 2026/27 after guiding United to third place last season, has kept his public focus on results rather than the recruitment file. Central midfield has been flagged across the UK press as the priority area heading into the winter.
Nmecha has 77 Bundesliga appearances for Dortmund and scored five goals across all competitions in 2025/26. The January transfer window opens on 1 January 2027, and no offer has been tabled.
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