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Manchester United will consider offers beginning at £70 million for Bruno Fernandes this summer, despite the 29-year-old’s enormous impact on his team.
Jamie Jackson (The Guardian) reveals Old Trafford executives would only consider “serious offers” as ones which “begin at a minimum £70 million” for the Portuguese international.
However, there is widespread acknowledgement amongst Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS Sport team that Fernandes is “United’s finest footballer” and there is “no push to sell” the 29-year-old this summer.
Both Bayern Munich and Barcelona have been linked with moves for Fernandes in recent weeks, while the prospect of an enormous offer arriving from the Saudi Pro League remains a realistic prospect.
United’s captain is believed to want a pay rise from his £220,000-a-week contract up to the top bracket of earners at Old Trafford – in the region of £300,000 a week. He also wants assurances on INEOS’ direction for the club moving forward, as well as clarity on Erik ten Hag’s future or the identity of the Dutchman’s potential replacement.
From United’s perspective, Fernandes has two years remaining on his current deal, with the option for a further twelve month extension. As such, there is no immediate pressure to make a decision on a player who will turn 30 at the start of next season.
Fernandes’ incredible injury-record and tireless work-rate mean the midfielder has played a lot of high-intensity football at this stage of his career. It would not be unfair for United’s executives to be wary of how their captain will begin to slow down as he enters his thirties, especially given how players like Raphael Varane and Casemiro have proven costly mistakes due to being awarded expensive contracts in the latter stage of their careers.
Yet it would be difficult to understate just how important Fernandes is to the United team at present.
The midfielder, alongside Diogo Dalot, are the only senior players at Old Trafford who could hold their head high this season. Despite playing in a disjointed and underperforming side, Fernandes managed to return 15 goals and 13 assists. His performance in the final of the FA Cup was a captain’s one at just the point his club needed it.
Within the dressing room Fernandes is also a massively positive influence. Old Trafford has not always been a place of professionalism or commitment to the club in recent years, but these are attributes United’s captain demonstrates in spades.
With the current squad consisting of a number of talented youngsters, an experienced leader to help guide them should be seen as a positive, rather than a negative. This may not hold as true in Bavaria or Barcelona, where the culture within the club is far healthier than in Manchester, but Fernandes’ influence is unquestionable at Old Trafford.
As such, while a soon to be 30-year-old Fernandes might not be valued at more than £70 million to any prospective suitors (outside of Saudi Arabia), United’s captain should be worth more than that to a club who could be thrown into disarray without his influence, both on and off the pitch.
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