People would probably have seen straight through Bruno Fernandes were he to take a page from the Robbie Keane playbook and claim he is joining Manchester United because they are his beloved ‘boyhood’ team.
But his first dalliance with the media after the deal was agreed on Tuesday night didn’t exactly give the impression he was that enthusiastic about specifically moving to Old Trafford.
United and Sporting CP have finally thrashed out a payment structure that starts at £47m and could rise to £68m if various add-ons are triggered.
Portuguese news cameras caught up with Fernandes as he was getting in his car and asked about the Premier League and his new club.
Quizzed on whether moving to England was his preference, he replied, “It always was.”
Yet his response was much less definitive when the interviewer asked, “Manchester United?”
To that, Fernandes said, “Anything, really.”
Video: Bruno Fernandes gets stopped by Portuguese media to answer questions about the PL and Man Utd.
— United Zone (@ManUnitedZone_) January 29, 2020
Interviewer: “The English league, is that your preference?”
Bruno: “ It always was”
Interviewer: “Manchester United?”
Bruno: “Anything Really”
🔜🔴 #muzone pic.twitter.com/WyfCfOgQli
It is fair that the 25-year-old probably didn’t want to say too much given that he remains contracted to Sporting for now and things could theoretically still fall apart.
But ‘anything, really’ feels worse than saying nothing at all.
Journalist Fabrizio Romano tweeted in the early hours of the morning that Fernandes will be arriving in Manchester on Wednesday to complete the formalities and final details of the transfer.
A contract until 2024 is said to be ‘almost ready’ – others sources have specified 2025, which suggests a four-and-a-half year deal plus the option of a further 12 months.
Bruno Fernandes is “ready to fly” today to Manchester with his agent Miguel Pinho. They’ve flight scheduled on next hours - the contract until June 2024 is almost ready.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 29, 2020
‘Green light’ expected by the two clubs, then the deal will be completed and announced. 🔴 #MUFC #Bruno
The ‘green light’ from United and Sporting is expected to follow those final contract talks, at which point the move will be confirmed and formally announced.
Fernandes has become the most talked about player in Europe this month, with his impressive goal and assist numbers driving what excited fans are saying about him. Since the start of last season alone, he has scored 47 times and contributed a further 32 assists.
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Source : 90min