Manchester United “U-turn” on Bruno Fernandes transfer after INEOS missed out on £100m signing | Manchester United Soccer | Sports

Manchester United have changed their stance on Bruno Fernandes’ future ahead of the summer transfer window. The captain’s contract expires after 18 months at Old Trafford. And INEOS were prepared to sell Fernandes last summer when they received a £100m offer from Saudi Arabia for their talismanic playmaker. The Portugal international will turn 32 later this year and United were open to a deal given that he would receive the club’s biggest ever transfer fee.

However, the player ultimately rejected the approach and chose to remain in England. In December, Fernandes admitted he was “hurt” and “sad” that the Red Devils were considering leaving. The player said, “I decided not to go, not only for family reasons, but because I love the club with all my heart.” The 31-year-old has had a fantastic season, scoring seven goals and providing 16 assists in just 27 Premier League games. And now United want to avoid losing their captain at the end of this season and will do everything in their power to keep him. According to the Daily Mail, United have told Fernandes directly that they will do everything in their power to avoid his departure. This marks a change in their stance from a year ago, when they were more positive about business.

United’s prospects are much more positive under caretaker manager Michael Carrick, with Champions League qualification likely, and United’s INEOS decision-makers are unanimous in their desire to keep Fernandes for a potential return to Europe’s top competition. Against Aston Villa, he became the third United player to reach 100 goals and 100 assists in all competitions in the Premier League, following Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney.

However, while United are keen to keep Fernandes at all costs, he still has a release clause in his current contract, making him potentially vulnerable. The clause would allow foreign clubs to poach the player from United for £57m.

Saudi Arabia are expected to show interest in Fernandes again, given they were prepared to pay a £100m transfer fee a year ago. On top of that, they were prepared to pay the attacking midfielder an incredible £700,000-a-week to join his compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo in the Saudi Professional League.

The report adds that Fernandes will reconsider his future after the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. If he chooses to stay, the Red Devils have the option to extend his current contract by a further 12 months until the summer of 2028.

Fernandes currently earns £290,000-a-week at United, but United are looking to reduce his wages. The planned departures of Casemiro, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford will go a long way in reducing their weekly spending.

This means the captain could receive a pay rise even if he signs a new contract. It is unclear whether Carrick will remain in charge next season, but the Englishman has made it clear he expects Fernandes to stay on for the 2026-27 season, regardless of who is in the dugout.

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“When it comes to the club and its future, it’s difficult for me to get too involved in it,” he said. “I can say that Bruno is definitely not someone we want to lose. He’s important to us and definitely someone we don’t want to lose.

“Bruno has been doing it for a long time. He makes the difference in important moments, he does it all the time, whether he’s scoring or creating.”

Fernandes is four assists shy of the Premier League single-season record of 20 held by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne. Third-placed United still have eight games left, with their next match away to Bournemouth on Friday night.

Carrick added: “It’s much better to get points and we win. So I don’t think it’s something to chase. I think it’s going to happen naturally anyway, but if he does that, obviously he’s created a goal for us so we’ll be happy with that. I think he’s important for us.”

“He is now playing in a position where we need to find him and the whole team needs to feed him as much as possible to make a difference, but this is not just a Bruno problem. He has had some very important moments recently, but as a team it is a responsibility to I think that’s very important because it’s not always on one player. And he’s not taking it all on himself because it makes everyone else’s job a little bit easier, but he shouldn’t and he hasn’t really done that for us. ”