The Premier League season has only just concluded, and a decision has been made that will have a significant impact on Manchester United over the next few years, with captain Bruno Fernandes deciding to turn down a move to Saudi Arabia.
Fernandes has been arguably the best signing the club has made in their post-Sir Alex era, being made captain in 2023 and scoring 98 goals in 290 games.
He’s also been a standout in recent years, when the club has experienced its two worst-performing campaigns in the Premier League.
Despite being the Reds’ best player, strong interest from Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal, along with a lucrative fee, seemed potentially too tempting for the club to refuse, with finances tight and the team in desperate need of a rebuild.
Supposedly, the decision lay with Fernandes, who took his time to consider his options, stay at United, with whom he has a contract until 2027 or move to Saudi where he would earn a life-changing amount of money.
As much as fans wouldn’t have liked the possibility of seeing Fernandes depart, the reality is that the money brought in – which would’ve been in excess of £100m – could have potentially accelerated United’s aim to become a successful football club again, provided they could spend the money effectively.
On the other hand, he is someone with an extraordinary ability to make himself available for the majority of games, providing so many goals and assists during his time at the club.
Not only that, but Fernandes has also been exemplary off the pitch, offering to pay for staff tickets to last year’s FA Cup final and organising squad outings.
United would have lost his leadership qualities as well as his footballing talents, so there are plenty of reasons to be delighted that the Portuguese is sticking around.
Regardless of the Fernandes situation, a mass turnover of players has been needed for years at Old Trafford, but with United needing to sell to buy, things are complicated as they approach what could be a pivotal summer transfer window.
Along with INEOS needing to show they are capable of turning around fortunes for United.
Two of the names being touted as top targets are Victor Gyokeres from Sporting and Bryan Mbuemo of Brentford, though signing both may be difficult due to finances.
The Reds have been handed a huge boost over the last few days, with Mbuemo expressing his interest in moving to Old Trafford from The Bees, despite approaches from a number of other top Premier League clubs, including Newcastle and Arsenal.
Should United meet Brentford’s asking price of around £60m, a deal is likely to be struck for the 25-year-old.
Signing the forward may ease the pressure on Amorim’s side to sign a top-class number nine, with the goalscoring load likely to be shared between the Cameroonian- who ended last season with 20 league goals – and new signing Matheus Cunha, who finished with an equally impressive 15 for Wolves.
There is still a lot of work for United to do this summer, but Cunha and Mbuemo both coming through the door would be a huge first step in the right direction.
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