Manchester United have once again gotten off their transfer window shopping spree off on a somewhat sombre note. Firstly, by releasing a number of players (among them Ander Herrera and Antonio Valencia) and ensuring that we extend contracts of players who have irked the fans one too many times. Think of the chuckle brothers, Phil Jones and Chris “Mike” Smalling and Ashley Young who needs to find a lower tempo club. Not to mention Instagram influencer, Jesse Lingard who is reportedly set to earn £135,000/week in a new long-term deal. It has also been reported that Juan Mata has been offered a new contract too but it has not been confirmed how much his wages are. But it just shows management’s determination to perform no better than last season in the transfer market, in which the main problems with the team were not addressed.

One signing we have made that seems to be one for now and hopefully many years to come is Daniel James. With his blistering pace having been on show for Swansea City in the Championship and against Manchester City in the FA Cup; he seems like a promising prospect who hopefully won’t end up being benched by Ashley Young. But this article is not about him, this article is on who United will apparently sign next. That player is Bruno Fernandes.

Now you may be wondering who this player is and what role he would be fulfilling at United next season (if he officially signs for us). Well if you did not happen to see him playing in the inaugural UEFA Nations League, another friendly international competition created to keep fans interested during international breaks, then you would be forgiven.

He’s basically a long-term solution to the departing Ander Herrera. He’s a good finisher and a creative player but enjoys playing high pressure football and can win the ball back or even foul the opposition tactically to stop the counterattack. I mean no disrespect to Ander, the former Red Warrior, of course, it’s just that in terms of simplifying and imagining what kind of player he is, Ander Herrera was the first player I could draw comparisons to the Portuguese international.  

At the time of writing, Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham have shown interest in the young midfielder. Manchester City had already made an inquiry earlier on in the year but did not pursue their interest. With the Portuguese midfielder having had his best season to date, scoring 32 goals and having 18 assists all at the tender age of 24, it will be intriguing to see where he will eventually end up come the end of the summer. A midfielder who can do everything, he would be wholly welcomed at United, considering that we may have an exodus of even more players before the window wraps up in early August.