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Manchester United have already faced a question on Bruno Fernandes’ future at Old Trafford this summer, but they look set for a repeat as the transfer window heads into its final week.
Renewed interest from Saudi Arabia
Fernandes, 30, was the subject of a high-profile approach from Al-Hilal earlier this summer, with the Saudi Pro League giants prepared to triple his wages and table a bid worth up to £100 million to lure the United captain to the Middle East.
A report relayed by The Peoples Person revealed the Portugal international gave “serious consideration” to the offer with his agent even travelling to Riyadh to discuss the move.
United did not actively entertain Fernandes’ sale as he is considered an essential part of Ruben Amorim’s squad, a fact the head coach publicly stated on multiple occasions at the time.
“He is a top player…he’s the captain, so he’s really important…our idea didn’t change. We want Bruno here.”
But, privately, the club’s executive branch are believed to have been open to listening to Al-Hilal’s proposal, given the figures involved for a player who turns 31 next year, even if there was no desire to follow through on it.
Ultimately, the decision was left up to Fernandes and, after taking time, he chose to reject it, citing his desire to remain playing at the “highest level” in European football.
But in the past week, a different Saudi side have reportedly made advances to convince Fernandes to reverse this decision with Al-Ittihad pushing to sign him.
The Saudi Pro League champions are reported to have held a meeting with his agent and that “first contact” between both parties has been “positive”.
Fernandes is said to have demanded £33 million a year to make the switch and is described as “seriously considering the offer” by Middle Eastern reporter Ismael Mahmoud.
Should United make the same decision?
If, and it is a big if, Fernandes was to communicate his willingness to accept Al-Ittihad’s proposal, the question would then move on to whether United would be willing to part ways with their talismanic captain?
At the beginning of the summer, the answer was no.
With a week left of the transfer window, the answer should now be yes, even if Amorim is adamant Fernandes cannot be sold. And this is precisely because of Amorim and the dogmatic application of his 3-4-2-1 system which he has been attempting to implement since arriving in Manchester in November.
Fernandes is best deployed as a number ten in a midfield three, either within a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3. But Amorim is committed to his three-man defensive unit, meaning neither systems will be tried nor tested.
Within a three-at-the-back system, Fernandes would be a good fit in, for example, Simone Inzaghi’s Inter Milan side, who enjoyed great success in Italy over the past four years before the Italian coach’s switch to, ironically, Saudi Arabia.
Inzaghi played a 3-5-2 system with two attacking number eights deployed either side of a holding midfielder. Fernandes’ relentless work-rate and energy would lend themselves favourably to this set-up, while giving him the freedom to remain a potent attacking threat in the opposition box.
Amorim’s system is incredibly specific, however, and leaves no obvious home for his captain.
The number tens must be excellent dribblers who can pick the ball up in the half-spaces between midfield and defence and drive at the opposition goal. They must offer physicality and pace, while retaining strong goal-scoring instincts. Mobility is key to the profile Amorim prefers.
Fernandes does not offer dribbling, pace or mobility – and it’s this reason why Amorim has settled on the Portuguese as a midfielder, and why United spent huge sums to secure Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo earlier this summer.
But Amorim’s midfield pivot requires players with outstanding athleticism to be able to cope with the demands of being outnumbered in the centre of the pitch without the ball; areas Fernandes struggles, even with his excellent stamina and work rate.
Fernandes’ partner in crime in midfield – be it Casemiro, Manuel Ugarte or Kobbie Mainoo – do not offer sufficient athleticism to make up for their captain’s lack of it. The partnership of Fernandes and Casemiro was repeatedly exposed against Fulham on the weekend as evidence of this.
Fernandes is also not an ideal fit when deployed deeper on the pitch with the ball. His risk-heavy style is perfect as the creative tip of a midfield, but much more dangerous when playing closer to his own goal as he is prone to lapses in concentration and poor judgement.
This analysis is not intended to critique Fernandes as a footballer – the 30-year-old is a creative genius who has often been a victim of his own success in a red shirt since arriving at Old Trafford in 2020. Rather, it is a criticism of Amorim and his inflexible approach to setting United up – and the effect this has on the team’s best player.
If United are throwing their full weight behind Amorim and, by extension, his 3-4-2-1 system, then Fernandes is increasingly an uncomfortable presence within that, despite his manager’s insistence to the contrary and his obvious quality as a footballer.
An offer worth in the region of £100 million from the Middle East would, almost by itself, secure the signing of Carlos Baleba – the club’s first-choice midfield target – from Brighton & Hove Albion as United would now be able to match the Seagulls’ valuation of the 21-year-old Cameroon international.
It would likely leave sufficient funds in the bank to also sign, for example, Senne Lammens – Royal Antwerp’s highly-rated 23-year-old goalkeeper – and another midfielder to play alongside Baleba. Conversely, it would also give room for a player like Mainoo to firmly establish themselves in the team, rather than having to fight for scraps from the bench.
With any other system, the idea of selling Fernandes would be a ridiculous one.
But within the framework that Amorim has obstinately created at Old Trafford, his captain is expendable because specific skillsets are needed – such as Baleba’s – which are not currently in the team. And if Amorim does not have a midfielder capable of dominating the engine room physically, then his system fails.
If Al-Ittihad translate their interest into an offer, Fernandes should, despite a host of reasons not to, function as the sacrificial lamb to secure United the players their manager needs, because he refuses to compromise on his system without them.
INEOS are all in on Amorim – and this means Fernandes has to go.
Featured image Mike Hewitt via Getty Images
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