Fred names ‘outstanding’ Leeds player Bruno Fernandes is desperate for Man Utd to sign

Meslier, Bamford, Ayling Raphinha

Manchester United midfielder Fred has revealed that Bruno Fernandes has not stopped talking about Raphinha since he signed for the Red Devils – and would love to link up with the Leeds United man one day in the future.

Brazilian winger Raphinha has scored six goals and added six assists in 26 league games since joining Leeds last summer. His performances have lit up the Premier League and seen him hailed as one of the signings of the season.

Such has been his form, he’s been linked with a number of big-name European clubs. There’s been English interest too, with Manchester United and Liverpool also apparently keen.

And it seems the Red Devils’ star man Fernandes would love to link up with his former Sporting teammate again one day.

According to Fred, Fernandes has been raving about the Brazilian ever since arriving at Old Trafford in January 2020.

“Bruno’s been talking about Raphinha ever since he arrived. They played together at Sporting,” Fred told the official Manchester United website.

“He’s a great player having an amazing season and a lot of clubs have their eye on him. I met him recently, great guy, excellent player but… I hope he won’t be lining up against us! [laughs]

April 22 Transfer Chatter: Fernandes future in doubt

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“I wish him a quick recovery and a lot of success in his career. He’s a stand-out star player for Leeds so, of course, it’s better for us if he’s not on the pitch.

“If he does play, we’ll look to mark him carefully and work on our game-plan as best as possible. We’ll try to nullify his threat to come out on top in this game.”


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Raphinha doubtful to face Man Utd

Since his intergration into the Leeds side, he’s been one of the first names on Marcelo Bielsa’s team-sheet. However, he missed out through injury in Monday’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool. And his chances of facing their old rivals on Sunday also appear slim.

Bruno Fernandes, Raphinha Man Utd v Leeds

“Raphinha is recovering from a knock that he picked up in the game against City. His evolution we will see in the next couple of days,” Bielsa said on Friday.

“With Raphinha we are controlling his evolution on a daily basis and up until now he hasn’t recovered sufficiently to be able to train again.”

Fred, meanwhile, has labelled the clash with Leeds as the ‘English Clasico’ in his pre-match preview.

Bielsa said of the rivalry: “I know perfectly what it means to play in a classic game.

“I know the effect that the result will have on the emotion of the people.”

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