Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes could leave Old Trafford this summer. It may seem hard to believe, but there is a lot of interest in the player.
MEN Sports understands that Bayern Munich are interested in purchasing the Portuguese midfielder and that the 29-year-old is open to a move away from the Premier League club. It is believed that players in the squad are concerned that Fernandes will leave at the end of the season.
United would prefer to keep Fernandes at the club and he is under contract until 2026. But, as we have seen before, if a player wants to leave, he will probably get his way.
READ MORE: United players have doubts about Fernandes
READ MORE: Varane sends message to INEOS
Cristiano Roanldo has reportedly urged his club Al-Nassr to replace his Portuguese teammate. Amid news of his possible departure, the Manchester Evening News asked United’s writers whether they wanted to sell the skipper or not.
Tyrone Marshall
In an ideal world, Fernandes won’t be going anywhere this summer, but the world United currently live in is far from ideal. Let’s look at it from the player’s side first.
He has performed consistently since his arrival in January 2020 and has been the club’s best player during that time. He has devoted his prime years to United and in a period of turmoil his standards have hardly dipped. He has a Carabao Cup medal for that and in the season he turns 30 he may not play in Europe at all. Can you blame him if he wants out?
United may be open to a sale as he is one of the few assets in this squad who can attract a good fee. His original fee has also been paid off in terms of depreciation, so it would all count as profit and reflect well in terms of what the club can spend this summer. There are positives to selling when the offer is too good to refuse.
But his contribution would be missed, as evidenced by a record of 143 goals or assists in 230 games. Maybe Mason Mount could fill that role, but he would have to step up big time.
George Smith
Fernandes’ importance to United cannot be underestimated. Not only is he their leader, he is also their chief architect.
Without him recently against both Crystal Palace and Arsenal, United struggled to flex their muscles in the final third, creating very few clear-cut chances. Over the course of those two matches, they registered just four shots on target.
Fernandes’ creativity was sorely missed and United do not have a midfielder with the same inventive skills as him. Despite the club needing to refresh their squad this summer, they must do everything they can to keep Fernandes and continue to use him as a key figure.
In the Premier League alone he has scored 17 direct goals this season, of which he has scored 10 and scored seven. To have achieved that in a team that lacked consistency and struggled to deliver at a high level is worth recognition.
Of course, every player comes at a price, and United should consider cashing in on the 29-year-old if a lucrative, explosive offer is presented to them. Without this, however, the Reds shouldn’t even be considering the idea of letting him go.
Jack Flintham
It would be a disaster if United lost Fernandes this summer. I have to admit that I had doubts about the Portuguese’s temperament at the start of the season, but he has really grown into the role of captain at Old Trafford.
Without him on the pitch last Monday, United really struggled and it’s clear he’s grown into a leader in that dressing room. The Reds are desperate to get a clean sheet at the end of this season, but it looks like they could lose not only one good character in Varane, but another in Fernandes.
With two years left on his current contract, one would hope that United would be in a strong negotiating position if Bayern were to make their interest formal. But they may struggle to earn much more than £60 million for his services.
For that amount of money, I struggle to see where United could find a suitable replacement who offers what Fernandes does. This is certainly worrying news for INEOS and Erik ten Hag.
Isaac Seelochan
I have always believed that Fernandes is a good leader and often does not get the credit he deserves. The Portugal international is far down the pecking order when it comes to perceived cultural issues in the United dressing room.
But at 29, there is also the question of whether he will decline, and United cannot afford to offload any more players. Injuries may start to take their toll after he has missed United’s last two games, having never been absent due to injury before.
However, after another solid season in which he scored 15 goals and provided 11 assists, there are no clear indications that Fenandes’ performances are deteriorating. It can be argued that he has been the club’s best player during a miserable season.
Most fans expect a significant clear-out this summer, which may be easier said than done with so many players on long-term contracts. Unfortunately, with only two years left on his current contract, it may be time for United to cash in on their captain while they can still get some transfer value from him.
It would be a difficult and controversial decision, but a potential new manager should be able to start fresh. It would make little sense to build a team around a player who can leave for nothing in the summer of 2026.
Tom Coley
There is no reason why United should consider selling Fernandes. Where would they be without him? His game-winning ability is the only thing that has kept them in the top half this season. If we lost that, it would be an incredibly difficult place to build from.
With Harry Kane at Tottenham we have seen that turnaround is possible even without star players, but the core at United is not that stable. With Raphael Varane leaving and Casemiro’s future under scrutiny, leaving a group without Fernandes would be a notable error of judgement. Good luck to whoever has to arrange that.
Despite questions about his attitude, there is an innate desire and demand to win with Fernandes that United simply need more of. It is hardly his fault that the recruitment around him has not been at the right level and there is a sense that the club has let him down by not matching his ambitions.
Modern football requires total buy-in and cohesion. Fernandes hasn’t always been the man to show this, but given the right circumstances there’s plenty of reason to believe he could be a keystone rather than a pariah.
Considering he still has years left on his contract and he is still in what could be considered his prime, anything under £80m for Fernandes should be laughed out the door. With no evidence yet on how Ineos will fare in the transfer market, there will be understandable questions about whether they can spend the potential Fernandes money wisely anyway.