This last summer saw Manchester United skipper Bruno Fernandes come extremely close to departing the club.
The Portuguese superstar was the subject of a £100 million bid from Al-Hilal, with the Saudi Pro League sides ready to pay him an obscene wage to turn his head.
However, after much coaxing, INEOS managed to keep a hold of him, but the new campaign has not started according to plan for the 31-year-old.
He has missed two penalties and is unhappy with the deeper role he has been given by Ruben Amorim. As a result, transfer rumours have continued to rage on.
Bruno Fernandes on the move?
Saudi clubs remain on the hunt, but as per recent reports, the Portugal international is not looking to move to the cash-rich league just yet.
He could remain in Europe, with Teamtalk reporting that Bayern Munich are ready to pounce. Real Madrid, who were linked with a move for him in the past, cannot be discounted as well with a £40 million bid being planned next summer.
“It now seems pretty clear that Bruno does not have much interest in a Saudi transfer, so let’s see if anything else opens up for him.
“Man Utd know that this is not going to be a case of selling him for mega money. Realistically, there seems to be a feeling that his value next summer would be somewhere around £40m based on his status right now.
“Maybe he does continue to see things through with Man Utd. Cashing in at that level may not be worth it. But I would not rule out the potential of a big club on the continent coming in for him to ask the question and turn his head.
“It is not that long ago that Real Madrid had interest in him, but did not follow through.
Real, Bayern ready to pounce
“He may not be the prime target as a central midfielder as of right now, but we know that is a position they are looking to strengthen next summer, and if other targets prove to be too expensive or unattainable for other reasons, then it is the sort of thing that might start to open up.
“Bayern Munich could always come back into the picture as well.”
The fee needs to be taken with a huge pinch of salt given his importance to Amorim’s plans. It would make a lot more sense for Bruno Fernandes to move to Saudi Arabia after a couple of years than play in Europe.
For now, it would be ludicrous to think that United could do better than the skipper. Despite his recent misses from the spot, he remains by far the best player at the club and deserves to leave on a high.
Feature image Jan Kruger via Getty Images
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Ayantan Chowdhury
After failing to become a professional footballer, Ayantan switched to the next best thing: writing about the greatest football club in the world. He has extensive sports journalism experience, having worked for over 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
