Bruno Fernandes drops Man Utd transfer tease as Sporting star nears Old Trafford switch

Posted Thursday, January 16, 2020 by Express.co.uk

Bruno Fernandes drops Man Utd transfer tease as Sporting star nears Old Trafford switch (Image: GETTY)

Manchester United look likely to sign Bruno Fernandes from Sporting Lisbon before the close of the January transfer window.

Manchester United transfer target Bruno Fernandes has dropped a fresh hint that he is Old Trafford-bound. One of his two agents, Rui Guimaraes, teased on social media that a deal is imminent on Tuesday.

Guimaraes liked a post on Instagram from football statistics website WhoScored, which was captioned: "Link in bio for the lowdown on Man Utd's impending arrival: Bruno Fernandes."

The agent even reposted the image to the story on his own personal Instagram account, tagging Fernandes and including the magician’s hat emoji and the glancing eyes emoji.

Guimaraes also linked Portuguese sports management company Positionumber, a company owned by Miguel Pinho of which he is a member.

And Fernandes has followed that up by reposting Guimaraes’ post on his story to further fuel speculation that he is heading to United.

The Red Devils are in talks with Sporting Lisbon to strike up a deal expected to be worth over £60million before the climax of the January transfer window.

The Portugal international has been in red hot form for the last 18 months, scoring 47 goals and laying on 33 assists including 15 goals and 13 assists this term.

And it appears he is keen on moving to England having also come close to such a switch in the summer, when he nearly joined Tottenham.

United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer flew to Lisbon to personally watch Fernandes in action earlier this month in a Primeira Liga defeat to Porto.

But the Norwegian wasn’t giving much away when asked about whether a deal for the 25-year-old is imminent.

"I’ve got no transfer updates, so no,” he told journalists ahead of United’s FA Cup third-round replay with Wolves tonight.

"If we get something that we can tell you about we will but I’ve got no news now.

"For me, the most important thing is that we get the results we want, that we get the performances on the pitch. That’s my focus, that’s got to be my focus.

"But I know that I - or we - have got the resources, we’ve got the backing if we need to go into the transfer market for example."

Fernandes is under contract at Sporting until 2023 but there have been suggestions the Portuguese club are enduring financial difficulties and would therefore like to get their highest-paid player off the books, providing they can get a suitable fee in exchange.

He would be United’s first January signing and Solskjaer’s fourth as manager after Daniel James, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Harry Maguire in the summer.

But the Manchester Evening News claim the 46-year-old has plans to further overhaul the Red Devils’ midfield, which has been left light at the halfway point of the season due to injuries to Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay.

Their finalised three-man shortlist for the summer, even if a move for Fernandes is concluded this month, is made up of Leicester’s James Maddison, Ajax ace Donny van de Beek and Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish.

With Pogba potentially on his way out of the club to Real Madrid in six months’ time, United are eyeing two midfielders as part of their plans to sign four new players in 2020.

Maddison and Grealish would be natural No 10 options which could see Fernandes play in a deeper-lying midfield role, although the MEN say a move for Van de Beek is the most unlikely.

Real Madrid are keen on the Dutchman and it is likely the 22-year-old will demand a move to a Champions League club, with United currently five points adrift of fourth spot.

After facing Wolves this evening, United turn their attentions to arch-rivals and unbeaten Premier League leaders Liverpool, who they take on at Anfield on Sunday.