AC Milan are watching Bruno Fernandes ahead of January, and the reason has less to do with Milan than with how badly things have gone wrong at Old Trafford. Calciomercato reports that the Portugal midfielder's relationship with Manchester United has broken down completely and that he is pushing for a winter exit. Ruben Amorim, who managed him at Old Trafford before taking the Milan job, is the one driving the interest.
How it got to this
The flashpoint was the 4-1 Champions League defeat to Como. Afterwards Fernandes said publicly that United spend too much time looking at what the club used to be and not enough on what it is trying to become. Michael Carrick disagreed in public too, which rarely ends with the manager and the player going back to normal.
Fernandes was then left on the bench for the home defeat by Bournemouth at the weekend. A captain who criticises the club and finds himself dropped four days later has been sent a message, whether or not anyone intended to send one.
Why Amorim wants him
Amorim knows exactly what he would be getting. He worked with Fernandes at United, and he believes the 32-year-old would fit one of the two attacking roles behind the striker in the 3-4-2-1 he has built his side around. Milan are unbeaten in Serie A on 18 points and are doing it with eight first-team players unavailable, so the argument that they do not need reinforcements is not an easy one to make.
A move would also take Fernandes back to a league he already knows. He had spells at Udinese and Sampdoria earlier in his career, so Italy is not unfamiliar territory for him.
The money is the problem
Fernandes earns €10.2m net a season, which is a long way beyond what Milan can comfortably pay. Both sides would have to give ground, and the player has already shown he will not simply follow the largest number: he turned down offers from Saudi Arabia in the summer because he wanted to stay in European football at the top level.
His contract runs to June 2027, with United holding an option for a further year. Triggering it would protect the fee rather than the relationship, and that fee could be substantial — his deal carries a release clause of close to €65m for clubs outside England. Talks about an extension have stopped entirely.
Which leaves United with an awkward calculation in January. Keep an unhappy captain who has stopped being an automatic starter, or sell him to a club managed by the man who used to pick him, in the middle of a season that has left Carrick's own position under open discussion.
Transfer context: Bruno Fernandes, 32, is under contract at Manchester United until June 2027, with a club option for a further year and a release clause of almost €65m for non-English clubs. He earns €10.2m net per season. AC Milan, managed by former United boss Ruben Amorim, are monitoring him ahead of January. Source: Goal, reporting Calciomercato.
0 Comments