Manchester United’s captain and talisman has been linked with a mega-money move to play for Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, and on Thursday his agent met with the club in Riyadh.
Al-Hilal are reportedly willing to offer Bruno Fernandes a mind-blowing £100m a year in wages, as well as a large fee to Manchester United, with Fabrizio Romano reporting that the Saudi Pro League side will pay whatever United demand for the player.
United would, for obvious reasons, prefer not to sell their star player, but the decision ultimately comes down to whether or not the Portuguese playmaker decides he wants to push for the move or not, and if he does, then United would not be likely to stand in his way.
In the club’s current situation, a transfer would provide much-needed funds that could potentially allow for Rúben Amorim to rebuild the team. For that money, United could buy two good quality players in needed positions and strengthen the squad.
But, just how easy is it to replace Bruno Fernandes, and is that money really worth it for what Manchester United will be losing?
United are not in a strong enough position to replace Fernandes
The team just had one of the worst seasons in its history, finishing 16th in the Premier League and putting in one of the most embarrasing final performances ever when up against Tottenham Hotspur, who finished below United in the league, in the Europa League final.
United are not in the Champions League next season, making it harder to attract new players already, and have quite a lot of work to do to move on from last season’s horror show. Selling Bruno Fernandes rocks the boat far too much in this regard.
If United did have Champions League football and could convince somebody such as Florian Wirtz or Rayan Cherki, linked to Liverpool and Manchester City respectively, to replace Fernandes’ creative output, as well as a quality player deeper in midfield, then maybe you could argue in the case of letting him go. He’s been a good servant to the club and United would be in a strong enough position to relplace him.
Right now United need a goalkeeper, midfielders, and attackers. Losing someone who does both the latter two jobs extremely well at a time where United are already so vulnerable feels far too big a risk. United are already losing a number of attackers this summer with Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, Jadon Sancho, and Antony all set to depart.
Not to mention the impact he has elsewhere too, as United’s captain he is a leader and hugely influential figure on the pitch and behind the scenes. He is also a highly experienced figure and United would need to think about replacing all these invaluable qualities as well as the footballer.
Can Manchester United really replace him?
When Liverpool sold Philippe Coutinho, there was a stronger foundation in place so they could afford to take the risk, and they used the money on Virgil van Dijk and Alisson to secure Liverpool’s defence – the only weak point left – building a top football side. They were smart in how they used the money.
Whilst INEOS’ signings have generally been fine, it also still feels like they are working a lot out upstairs especially thinking about the change to a back three system with Ruben Amorim as boss. Not every signing has been a success, and with the lack of Champions League football it feels like United are limited in who they can get.
This then begs the question: Do we really trust Manchester United to replace Bruno Fernandes properly?
Hypothetically that aforementioned idea of selling the 31-year-old, replacing him with a top young attacking midfield talent and also bringing in a solid defensive midfielder to maybe partner Kobbie Mainoo feels like a nice idea. But how likely really is that to happen?
Again I have to mention the leadership and experience, United already lack both in the current team and to lose a player who brings them in such abundance, and applies them in such a key way for the team, is going to be extremely difficult to replace.
If United were in a stronger position, then to say goodbye and wish a player who is arguably a club legend well, in turn using the funds to rebuild the squad, would be ok. But United’s position right now is too weak to think about letting Fernandes go from the club side.
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