According to Nicola Schira of La Gazzetta dello Sport, Manchester United have agreed personal terms with Bruno Fernandes. The Red Devils are apparently willing to offer the Sporting CP midfielder €6 million per year, and the player will sign a five-year contract. However, United are yet to agree on terms with Sporting over the potential €70 million transfer for the Portuguese international. But, what could the potential addition of Fernandes mean to the Manchester United setup?
Paul Pogba set to leave the club?
Both Paul Pogba and Fernandes are labelled as creative midfielders. Although the latter is an out and out number ten, Pogba has been the club’s creator-in-chief in recent years. Hence, the arrival of Fernandes could potentially usher in the departure of the Frenchman.
Pogba has already admitted that he is keen on leaving Old Trafford to seek a new challenge this summer. As a result, he has been a subject of interest from Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid throughout the ongoing summer transfer window.
Bad news for Andreas Pereira?
The signing of Fernades would come as a massive blow for Andreas Pereira. The Brazilian midfielder featured for the United first-team since returning on loan from Valencia last summer. He even made 15 league appearances during the 2018/19 campaign.
And prior to the start of this new season, Pereira was among the players tipped to make a breakthrough into the starting lineup. However, his hopes of making a mark in the Premier League could take a significant fit, should Fernandes join the club.
Like Pereira, the Portuguese is also an out and out attacking midfielder. That means the young midfielder is unlikely to receive opportunities or will have to play in a makeshift position.
Will Solskjaer change the formation this season?
Fernandes’ presence in the team could prompt Ole-Gunnar Solskjaer to make a few changes to his 4-3-1-2 setup. The Norwegian used this shape consistently during the backend of last season. But, the fact that the Sporting captain is an out and out number ten means he can’t consider him as a central midfielder.
Besides, Solskjaer will also have to consider a stacked attacking department consisting of Alexis Sanchez, Juan Mata, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and of course, Fernandes. That means having an extra slot in midfield is more or less redundant.
Instead, the ex-Malmo coach will need to switch to a 4-2-3-1 shape or even a 4-1-3-2, with Nemanja Matic or Scott McTominay sitting in as the lone holding midfielder. It will be interesting to see what plans Solskjaer will come up with in order the extract the best out of Fernandes if he joins the club.
