Share By Dominic Booth 05:00, 12 JAN 2020 Sport opinion Bruno Fernandes of Sporting CP in Europa League action (Image: 2019 Carlos Rodrigues) Players don't accrue goals from midfield, at the rate Bruno Fernandes has done in the past two seasons, if they've got no ability.
So if interested clubs were concerned that the Sporting Lisbon playmaker would not be able to repeat his 23 goals (in all competitions) from last season when the new campaign begun, they've been proven wrong.
Fernandes has mustered 12 in 25 this season, at an almost identical rate to his goal tally last term, to dispel the myth that he's a one-season wonder and inevitably trigger links with Manchester United again.
The 25-year-old didn't get his move in the summer but has knuckled down after signing a new contract at Sporting. Even though that new deal was announced just after the frenzied summer speculation, you never truly suspected that the links with Premier League clubs would go away and so it's proved. Fernandes has revealed he came very close to a Tottenham transfer in the summer, which proves the interest in his services was genuine and not just cooked up by Portuguese media.
Having said that, MEN Sport understands the reports linking Fernandes to United were overplayed by Portuguese outlets in the summer and Sporting are again keen to whip up an auction in the player.
But the point here is that a player of Fernandes' calibre is exactly the kind of target United should be considering. Simply put, the January transfer window is about trying to improve your squad with better players from elsewhere.
Bruno Fernandes agent deletes Twitter account amid Manchester United transfer speculation Leicester City provide fresh James Maddison transfer update amid Manchester United interest Between them, United's current No.10 options — Andreas Pereira, Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata — have scored one Premier League goal this season. They each have major flaws in different areas: with Pereira clearly talented but inconsistent, Lingard seemingly short of confidence and Mata a shadow of his former self.
It's no surprise that United have been linked with the best English playmakers around in James Maddison and Jack Grealish.
The reality of Maddison and Grealish's situations is that neither will move in January given their Premier League clubs have no desire or need to cash in.
So that, coupled with United's current options and Fernandes' astonishing record (add 10 assists to 12 goals this term and a number of impressive displays in the Europa League) means United would be foolish to disregard him.
Performing on the European stage shows — in a similar fashion to what Erling Haaland did to prompt United interest — that Fernandes' stats aren't just a product of the supposedly 'easier' league in Portugual. Five goals and three assists in five Europa League group stage games outstrips what any United player was able to do this season.
Rio Ferdinand sends Manchester United fans into meltdown with Bruno Fernandes tweet Manchester United open to short term signing in transfer window There has been an incredible frenzy around Fernandes' name on social media whenever it's been connected with a possible United move and that doesn't help anyone make logical and structured opinions on a footballer. Perhaps it's a product of the FIFA generation, with Fernandes' rating on the popular video game particularly exciting for some.
Yet United's recruitment process, which now involves deep and analytical research on targets, will surely have looked upon the Portugal international favourably. His numbers are excellent, his performances eye-catching and he would fill a position in which United desperately need more quality — two in fact, as he's played in the No.8 and No.10 slots this term.
So while Fernandes lacks experience of English football, his reported £55million valuation and his excellent record means he'd be a transfer gamble worth taking for United this month.
