Manchester United legend Patrice Evra has pleaded with his former club not to even consider the sale of captain Bruno Fernandes.
Despite a wretched season that currently has United languishing in 16th place in the Premier League and yet to hit 40 points, Fernandes has still managed to put up impressive numbers.
The Portuguese playmaker has undoubtedly been United’s standout player this term, notching eight goals and 10 assists in 34 Premier League matches. He has plundered 19 goals and as many assists in 54 appearances across all competitions.
Fernandes has played a crucial role in the Red Devils’ run to the Europa League final, where they will face Tottenham Hotspur in a week’s time.
There have been strong murmurs that Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal are preparing to make a move for Fernandes ahead of the summer transfer window. Al-Hilal are understood to be keen on offering a British world-record fee to try and tempt United to sanction the sale of their skipper.
They are also believed to be offering Fernandes an eye-watering £65million-a-year in wages to convince him to make the switch to the Gulf State.
However, according to Evra, United should be looking to build the team around Fernandes rather than letting him go.
The Frenchman told Sky Sports, “What he’s looking for next season is to have a competitive team. We need more defenders, we need a proper striker, maybe some midfielders to support Bruno. I heard in Saudi they offered a lot of money to get Bruno and I think it would be a mistake to let him go.”
“People talk about his age, 30. No! He’s the most important player in the team.”
“I think if Bruno wasn’t there, maybe we wouldn’t be in the final of the Europa League.”
Some have argued that United would have been in a relegation scrap without Fernandes. When this point was put to Evra, the former left-back answered, “Yeah, I’m not afraid and ashamed to say that. This could have been possible, but now we are this final.”
“Make sure next year that we get the right players to be competitive because we have to forget this season.”
Evra revealed that he had spoken to Ruben Amorim and believes the 40-year-old coach is the right man to turn things around.
“It’s a disaster, it’s not a great season. Amorim knows that, I had a meeting with him and he’s not happy. But I love his humility, he admits things. You remember what happened with Rashford? He said, ‘Guys, I couldn’t get the best out of Rashford.’”
“I love the personality but, of course, the results are really bad this season.”
Looking ahead to the Europa final, Evra remarked, “We’ve got, I would say, the last chance to win the Europa League, but it’s against Tottenham and they have beaten us three times this year. It won’t be an easy game. If you want to attract the top players, you need to be playing in the Champions League, especially a club like Manchester United.”
“It’s definitely the biggest game for Amorim and his players this season. United can have a tough season, even with Erik ten Hag, but we still win trophies and there’s not many teams that can do that.”
“That’s why this is the biggest chance, the biggest opportunity. Please guys, make it happen.”
Meanwhile, United are back in action on Friday when they make their way to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea. Kick-off is at 20:15 BST.
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Derick Kinoti
Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!
