Big Bruno Fernandes confession from Sporting as Man Utd interest ends

Manchester United will not be following up on their interest in Bruno Fernandes any time soon after Sporting Lisbon’s president confirmed they did not even make an approach to sign the Portuguese playmaker this summer.

The transfer saga of Fernandes had been one of the hottest topics of the summer, with several Premier League clubs lodging interest in the man who enjoyed a breakout campaign last year, notching 31 goals in all competitions.

The playmaker has made an equally impressive start to the current campaign, and looks set to be rewarded with a new deal increasing his base salary from €2 million to €5 million per year.

Fernandes had looked a certainty to make the move to the Premier League, with the player himself admitting that a move to Tottenham had been agreed before the plug was pulled by his club Sporting Lisbon.

Now Sporting president Frederico Varandas has confessed that Spurs were the only club to make an offer for the Portugal midfielder, with the move apparently breaking down after the London club tried to include a Champions League related clause into the potential transfer.

Varandas told the club’s official website: “It was ‘impossible’ to retain Bruno Fernandes, but we did it.

“We prepared for his sale by putting a fair price on his worth, and we had bids, but only a serious offer from Tottenham, that was €45m (£40.32m) plus 20m (£17.92m) in add-ons; winning the Premier League and the Champions League. But we found these add-ons difficult, I decided not to accept.”

United ‘prefer Eriksen over Fernandes’

Varandas’ admission means that, despite weeks of speculation, Manchester United did not ever make an official approach for the player – news that would appear to back up reports in Thursday morning’s newspapers.

There was also the suggestion over the summer that Sporting were looking to increase their windfall for Fernandes by using reported interest from United to galvanise interest in the midfielder.

According to the Daily Mirror, United have no desire to make a fresh approach to sign Fernandes and in fact will focus instead on a January swoop for unsettled Tottenham star Christian Eriksen.

Eriksen is in the final 10 months of his contract at Spurs and, having so far rejected all offers of a new deal, has been mentioned as a target for both Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid.

But reports are growing that Old Trafford could be a genuine destination for the Dane, with reports earlier this summer suggesting the player was flattered by reports linking him with United.

Meanwhile, another Tottenham target, Rodrigo De Paul, has explained why he opted to stay at Udinese rather than leave his current employers. 

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