Bruno Fernandes situation at Manchester United as future is unclear

National World - LocalTV

A look at the midfielders’ latest

Transcript

00:00 So Michael, starting with Manchester United, obviously your coverage is more Manchester City,

00:06 but it's a club that they're always making the headlines.

00:09 In terms of Bruno Fernandes, it's quite an unclear future for him at the moment.

00:14 What's the latest you can tell us? He's certainly making some of the headlines,

00:19 as multiple Man United players and figures are at the moment.

00:23 Yeah, it's an interesting one.

00:25 Fernandes, I think widely United fans would consider him to have been the best player over the last four or five years,

00:31 even though I would probably say his performances have been steadily on the decline for the last two years or so.

00:39 But I still think he's a very important player.

00:41 I still think he's up there for United Player of the Year this year, potentially.

00:44 He's obviously club captain and he's a real leader, never shirks responsibility, always fit to play.

00:49 But I think that there's a growing slight sense of frustration from him that these reports recently,

00:55 which are true that United are willing to let the vast majority of the squad leave this summer,

01:01 or at least they're all available for transfer, and they obviously won't all go.

01:05 I think that has frustrated Fernandes a little bit.

01:09 I think he feels that maybe he's done something that he shouldn't be included in.

01:15 He's been included in the players that aren't up for sale, which was Garnaccio, Kovimeanu and Hoyland.

01:22 So I think that's frustrated him.

01:23 I think he's been frustrated a little bit with Ineos's approach since they've come in.

01:26 I don't think there's been a huge amount of clear communication between the hierarchy and the players.

01:30 I think that's frustrated Fernandes.

01:32 I think the treatment, particularly of the experienced players, goes back to that report.

01:36 But Casemiro's going to leave probably this summer.

01:39 Varane's already confirmed he's on his way.

01:41 Yeah, I think obviously Ineos want a slightly younger, more dynamic squad.

01:45 And Fernandes, I think, obviously as club captain, has felt a little bit put out by that.

01:48 There was a meeting last week to discuss that, and I think put a lot of their concerns at ease.

01:55 Obviously, Fernandes had done that interview where he basically said,

01:57 "Well, I'll be there as long as the club want me," which was pretty…

02:01 I don't have to read too much between the lines to see what he was trying to say there.

02:05 He actually repeated something similar last night again.

02:07 My kind of understanding of it is as well that part of it is that he actually wants a new long-term contract

02:13 as a reward for his performances, his commitment, his role as club captain.

02:18 But the new Ineos hierarchy are reluctant to give him a new deal.

02:23 He is 29.

02:25 As I say, I think his performance has been steadily on the decline.

02:29 And I can understand a little bit of reluctance personally from Ineos' perspective.

02:33 And, yes, I think it's left a little bit of unease,

02:39 but I don't think there's any expectation he's going to leave this summer.

02:42 There have obviously been reports of Bayern Munich's interest.

02:44 I think there's reports of Saudi Arabian interest.

02:47 But I don't think… he'll still be a Manchester United player next year.

02:50 I think he'll be very surprised if that wasn't the case.

02:53 I think there's some of the issues and some of the concerns being put to bed,

02:56 but I think that Fernandes for all these years has been a player who's never really been a troublemaker,

03:02 and that's still the case now.

03:03 But now there is just that sense, a little bit of unease between the player and the club,

03:08 that you could feel it perhaps in a year's time.

03:10 I think it's not impossible that they part ways.

03:13 We'll have to see where it goes.

03:15 But from my perspective, I still think he is a very important player for Manchester United

03:18 and a player that they probably do need to keep really going forward in the next season.

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