Sporting send Man Utd message over improved Bruno Fernandes bid

Bruno Fernandes TEAMtalk

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has suggested time is now against Manchester United after reports in Portugal claimed the Red Devils had seen their latest bid for Bruno Fernandes rejected by Sporting Lisbon.

The on-off saga took a turn for the worse on Thursday evening when it seemed the transfer was off the table with the two clubs seemingly unable to agree a deal and United money man Joel Glazer refusing to sanction the deal.

However, reports over the weekend stated United have upped their €50m up front offer (with a further €10m in bonuses) to €55m up front (plus €10m in bonuses), which had been enough to get Sporting chiefs back around the negotiating table.

But with just five days left in the transfer window – and with the midfielder again expected to play for Sporting Lisbon on Monday night in their game against Maritimo  – time is very much against Manchester United.

And those hopes were given another significant blow on Monday morning when Record claimed Sporting president Frederico Varandas has rejected United’s improved approach for Fernandes.

Furthermore, the Portuguese paper claims Sporting remain determined to hold out for their €70m (£59m) asking price and will happily keep the goalscoring midfielder unless their valuation is met.

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s 6-0 FA Cup win at Tranmere, United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer appeared nervous as he indicated he wasn’t confident of getting the deal over the line.

“We’re still working on one or two things so let’s see if the club get it over the line,” was all he would say on the matter, having previously insisted United were right to stand their ground over transfer negotiations.

 

Bruno Fernandes unaffected by speculation – Silas

And with the player’s future still very much in the spotlight but, at this stage, seemingly set to remain in Portugal, Sporting head coach Silas gave an update on Fernandes’ future soon after, insisting the transfer talk have not impacted on his performances.

“Very good, always in a good mood and always available to work,” he said.

“I realise that he is more anxious, but I didn’t notice it in training or in the game.

“I think he will play and I’m sure he will play well. We missed a lot of goals in the games of Benfica and FC Porto and Bruno was there in those games, but it was a question of effectiveness.

“Of course, when goals are scored, there is talk in a way about a certain performance and when the goals are not achieved.

“Such goals already speak of an exhibition in another way. We didn’t deserve to lose. We were not inferior to FC Porto, on the contrary, we were superior.

“It has to do with whether we put the ball in there or not.”

Fernandes has scored 64 goals in 136 appearances for Sporting since signing from Sampdoria in summer 2017.

Meanwhile, United are said to have identified a Leicester full-back as a primary summer target.