Man Utd ‘Accelerate’ Transfer & Lisbon Derby Involvement in Doubt - Bruno Fernandes Daily

The Manchester United and Bruno Fernandes saga rumbles into another day, although events that transpire on Friday evening could provide a significant moment in reaching a conclusion.


Arguably never before has the world been so focused on the Lisbon derby between Sporting CP and Benfica, and it has nothing really to do with either of the historic clubs involved. The question on everyone’s lips is: will Fernandes play?

Bruno Fernandes

Between Thursday night and Friday morning there have been contradictory claims about just how close to completion this proposed transfer is.

Portuguese broadcast TVI24 were focusing on the idea that the deal might be at risk because Sporting were refusing to come down from their €65m price tag. But with United apparently only offering €50m plus add-ons, there was still a €15m (£12.8m) difference in the basic fee.

The same evening, however, Portuguese football legend Paulo Futre, once briefly of West Ham but more famously of Porto and Atletico Madrid, claimed the opposite on a different network.

Futre suggested on CMTV, which is linked to newspaper Correio da Manha, that only ‘very small details’ were left to be agreed. In turn, he claimed that it remains possible that Fernandes might not play against Benfica because a transfer agreement could be reached before then.

UEFA Europa League"Sporting Club de Portugal v PSV"

Those ‘details’ appeared to Andreas Pereira on loan or more add-ons if the player refused.

It is worth noting here that Sport Witness warns that Correio da Manha was somewhat guilty of sensationalising various things last summer, beyond just the original Fernandes saga.

In the hours since, A Bola appears to be on the side of CMTV rather than TVI24.

That report, which is also summarised by Sport Witness, suggests that the transfer has been ‘accelerated’ by United, who want the deal ‘closed’ before the Friday night derby – he would therefore miss the game as a result.

There is certainly a sound logic to that out of fear Fernandes could pick up an injury.

A Bola reports that United are ready to make their formal written offer. Given that personal terms are already thought to have been agreed, that should be the final step. The numbers in question are €60m plus €10m in add-ons, or €65m plus €5m in add-ons. Either way it appears that Sporting will be getting most, if not all, of the fee they were earlier rumoured to want.

Despite several other outlets reporting slightly different details in the numbers, it does more generally now appear to be a case of when, rather than if.

Earlier this week, reports suggested that Fernandes could be in attendance at Anfield on Sunday to watch his new teammates in action against Liverpool. If a deal is agreed relatively soon and he travels to England to finalise the move, that is certainly still a plausible scenario.

United fans, be warned, though. Fernandes is still just a footballer and not the Messiah; he will need time to settle and cannot reasonably be expected to single-handedly save the season.


For more from Jamie Spencer, follow him on Twitter and Facebook!


Source : 90min