The ‘Bruno Fernandes to Manchester United saga’ continues with reports claiming that the Red Devils are frontrunners to sign the Portuguese international who had a fantastic 2018-19 for his club, Sporting Lisbon. Now, Mirror are reporting that the Portuguese club is close to signing Fernandes’ potential replacement, Palermo midfielder Aleksandar Trajkovski, which indicates that Fernandes may see the exit door at Sporting soon.
Manchester United have been linked with several midfielders since the end of the 2018-19 season, with the likes of Mario Lemina, Tiémoué Bakayoko and John McGinn the latest to be linked with a move to Old Trafford.
The Red Devils have to buy a midfielder to replace Ander Herrera, who left the club to join French champions Paris Saint-Germain, while they are also in the hunt for a new central defender.
Fernandes had a great 2018-19 season for Sporting Lisbon, scoring 32 goals in all competitions while also registering 18 assists – fantastic numbers for a midfielder.
Where will Bruno Fernandes fit in the Man United XI?
Manchester United need to revamp their midfield which was pedestrian and unimaginative last season getting bullied at times by mid-table teams. Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba, Scott McTominay, Fred and Andreas Pereira as his options in central midfield ahead of the 2019-20 season, which is a group of players that don’t inspire confidence.
Matic seems to be over the hill and is not the midfielder that he was in the past, while Pogba has openly said that he would like to leave Manchester United. McTominay had a good year, but it remains to be seen if he can replicate those performances in the 2019-20 season straightaway, while Fred and Pereira were either inconsistent or not good enough.
Fernandes will most likely slot in advanced midfield alongside Paul Pogba – if the Frenchman stays at Manchester United – with Scott McTominay or Nemanja Matic shielding the back four. The Portuguese midfielder must be given the licence to roam around the pitch and create chances and score goals.
Fernandes is a player who can pass, cross, shoot, and dribble – an all-round talent – who also has good work-rate and is disciplined in midfield. Solskjaer must imperatively play a defensive player when Pogba and Fernandes are playing in the same team, to give both attack-minded midfielders the freedom to bomb forward at every opportunity.