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Scottish Sun
4 hours ago
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Man Utd identify £70m ex-Premier League star as Bruno Fernandes replacement if captain leaves for Al-Hilal
RUBEN AMORIM will make a £70million swoop for Pedro Goncalves - if Bruno Fernandes heads for Saudi Arabia. But Manchester United's hopes of landing the Sporting Lisbon prize guy could be scuppered if the Portuguese club sell Viktor Gyokeres first. Advertisement 2 Pedro Gonçalves played under Ruben Amorim at Sporting Credit: Getty 2 Bruno Fernandes has been linked with a Saudi switch Credit: PA United skipper Fernandes has until Friday to tell Al-Hilal if he is up for a move to the Middle East, and the Saudis are ready to pay £100m if they get the thumbs up. And if Fernandes does take the plunge on a three-year deal, the cash-strapped Reds could afford Goncalves – also known as Pote - with money to spare. Manager Amorim would still prefer to keep his captain, and insisted he was confident of doing so after United's post-season trip to Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur. But he is equally aware that a salary of more than £1m a WEEK is hugely tempting for Fernandes. Advertisement READ MORE IN FOOTBALL TOUR DE FARCE Inside Man Utd Asia tour including fan clashes and champagne vending machine And the Old Trafford money men know they will hit the jackpot by banking such a fee for a man who turns 31 a month into next season. Goncalves, 26, had two years at Wolves as a teenager, but returned to Portugal without playing a game. Amorim took him to Lisbon from Famalicao six years ago, transforming him into a more attacking midfielder who can also play wide. Goncalves, who hit 23 goals as Sporting ended a 19-year title drought in 2021, missed five months of last season with a ruptured thigh muscle. Advertisement BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK But he returned in April and scored in the final day victory over Vitoria which clinched the Portuguese championship again. Goncalves is also on Aston Villa's wish list, but United believe his relationship with Amorim puts them in pole position. Ruben Amorim bursts out laughing when asked about Man Utd star's future The biggest stumbling block could arise if Arsenal or Napoli can seal an early deal for £67m-rated striker Gyokeres, as Sporting would be unwilling to cash in on two of their star men. Advertisement But the Portuguese side will land a £5m-plus jackpot if Fernandes heads to the Middle East, thanks to a clause giving them ten percent of any profit United make on their skipper. Join SUN CLUB for the Man Utd Files every Thursday plus in-depth coverage and exclusives from Old Trafford
The Irish Sun
4 hours ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Man Utd identify £70m ex-Premier League star as Bruno Fernandes replacement if captain leaves for Al-Hilal
RUBEN AMORIM will make a £70million swoop for Pedro Goncalves - if Bruno Fernandes heads for Saudi Arabia. But Advertisement 2 Pedro Gonçalves played under Ruben Amorim at Sporting Credit: Getty 2 Bruno Fernandes has been linked with a Saudi switch Credit: PA United skipper And if Fernandes does take the plunge on a three-year deal, the cash-strapped Reds could afford Goncalves – also known as Pote - with money to spare. Manager But he is equally aware that a salary of more than £1m a WEEK is hugely tempting for Fernandes. Advertisement READ MORE IN FOOTBALL And the Old Trafford money men know they will hit the jackpot by banking such a fee for a man who turns 31 a month into next season. Goncalves, 26, had two years at Wolves as a teenager, but returned to Portugal without playing a game. Amorim took him to Lisbon from Famalicao six years ago, transforming him into a more attacking midfielder who can also play wide. Goncalves, who hit 23 goals as Sporting ended a 19-year title drought in 2021, missed five months of last season with a ruptured thigh muscle. Advertisement Most read in Football BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK But he returned in April and scored in the final day victory over Vitoria which clinched the Portuguese championship again. Goncalves is also on Aston Villa's wish list, but United believe his relationship with Amorim puts them in pole position. Ruben Amorim bursts out laughing when asked about Man Utd star's future The biggest stumbling block could arise if Advertisement But the Portuguese side will land a £5m-plus jackpot if Fernandes heads to the Middle East, thanks to a clause giving them ten percent of any profit United make on their skipper. Join SUN CLUB for the Man Utd Files every Thursday plus in-depth coverage and exclusives from Old Trafford
Daily Mirror
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Man Utd identify Fernandes replacement if skipper makes £100m Saudi transfer
Al-Hilal are hoping to tempt Bruno Fernandes to make the move to Saudi Arabia and Manchester United are interested in Pedro Goncalves as a potential replacement for their captain Manchester United are lining up Sporting Lisbon's attacking midfielder Pedro Gonclaves as a replacement for £100million Saudi target Bruno Fernandes. The Reds were tracking the 26-year-old Portuguese international before Al-Hilal sent shockwaves around Old Trafford by indicating they are prepared to pay a fortune for Fernandes. But if Fernandes decides to accept a three-year contract worth a staggering £180million then that would give United the finances to meet Sporting's £70million valuation of Gonclaves. His arrival would help ease the anger that Ruben Amorim would feel about losing his captain. Fernandes scored 19 goals and provided 20 assists in a struggling team this season, but at 30 he is four years older than Goncalves. Goncalves plays in a more advanced role than Fernandes after Amorim transformed him into a lethal attacking midfielder who can also play out wide when they were together at Sporting. The United boss spotted his potential for goals at a pre-season training camp in 2020 - and was rewarded with 23 goals and for assists in 32 games as Sporting won the Portuguese title for the first time in 19 years. Goncalves has recently returned from injury after rupturing a thigh muscle in Amorim's final game as Sporting coach in November. He had been attracting the attention of Aston Villa and Bayer Leverkusen before being sidelined. An added complication for any deal with Sporting for Goncalves is the speculation over the Portuguese club's Swedish striker Viktor Gyokeres. Napoli are ready to battle Arsenal for the £67million-rated goal machine, while Amorim also admires the 26-year-old former Brighton, Swansea and Coventry forward. Sporting would be reluctant to cash in on two of the players who have just helped them retain the title in the same summer. Amorim has made it clear he does not want to lose his skipper, but the prospect of using the cash to help finance a rebuild has prompted his Old Trafford bosses to leave the decision up to Fernandes. Al-Hilal have set a Friday deadline for Fernandes to give them an answer. Sporting will cash in again if Fernandes decides to go to the Saudi Pro League after negotiating a 10 percent cut of any profit United make on the 30-year-old when he left Lisbon for Manchester in a deal initially worth £47million plus add-ons. That means the Portuguese club would bank over £6million if United seal a deal with Al-Hilal.
BBC News
8 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
Amorim's blunt approach will benefit club
Manchester United defender Matthijs de Ligt has praised Ruben Amorim's blunt approach and feels it will benefit the club in the long Amorim has found winning matches difficult since he arrived from Sporting in November, he has delivered some of the most withering statements about United during his short time in the 3-1 home defeat by Brighton in January he claimed his side were "probably the worst in Manchester United history".In the aftermath of the Europa League final defeat by Tottenham, he said he would walk away without talking about compensation should either the club's hierarchy or the fans feel it was the best way the recent post-season tour of Asia, Amorim accused his players of being "chokers" after their shock defeat by a South-East Asia select Ligt, who skippered Ajax to the Champions League semi-finals in 2019, feels that, because of his nationality and the Dutch reputation for blunt speaking, Amorim's words are positive."I'm from Holland so I like it," he said. "I can understand the media are in shock because normally this doesn't happen."But I think you can also be really happy that finally someone speaks out, says what he thinks and speaks the truth."I really appreciate him in our conversations personally. It gives me a feeling I can trust him and he can trust me."United are reeling after their worst season domestically since the 1973-74 was no backdoor entry to the Champions League thanks to the Tottenham reverse, meaning United miss out on European football and the finances that come with it next season for only the second time since English clubs returned to Uefa competition in delivering just seven Premier League victories after arriving at the club in November, Amorim will start the new campaign under intense De Ligt feels the work Amorim is doing around the first-team group will pay dividends."I've experienced many managers and he's one of the most easy to talk to as a player," he said."He's really into details. Before signing new players, first he's looking at the culture, what needs to change and what can be improved to become a better football club. From next season we will see more of that."I think he wants to build a team of players who are together, fighting for each other and making the most out of what they have."Maybe before, you had the best players, but you're not a team."
Metro
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Metro
Man Utd plotting move for £67m star to replace Bruno Fernandes this summer
Manchester United are weighing up a move for Sporting CP star Pedro Goncalves as a replacement for Bruno Fernandes should he leave Old Trafford this summer. Fernandes has a staggering offer from Al-Hilal and is giving serious thought to leaving United after his representatives met with officials from the Saudi club this week. Al-Hilal are prepared to pay up to £100million to land the Portugal international – comfortably the biggest fee United have ever received for a player – and are prepared to treble the £250,00-a-week wages he currently collects in Manchester. Fernandes played in United's final post-season friendly on Friday – what could be his last appearance for the club. Ruben Amorim remains confident Fernandes will stay, hopeful the club can find otherwise to raise funds this summer, but reports in Portugal suggest contingencies are already being explored. Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro's Football Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link so we can send you football news tailored to you. A Bola claim United are giving strong consideration to a move for Goncalves. The 26-year-old, who was briefly on the books of Wolves, returned to Portugal in 2019 and was a key player under Amorim during his rise at Sporting. Having typically starred on the left of attack, Goncalves can also operate in midfield. The report suggests United regard him as a possible replacement for Fernandes with the move currently under consideration at Old Trafford. However, they may also still make an offer even if they hold onto their captain. Amorim is eager to strengthen his attacking options with Alejandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford and Antony among those expected to leave. Goncalves has a release clause of €80million (£67m) which Sporting would expect to be met in full. The Portuguese champions are not looking to sell and while they intent to offer him a new contract, Goncalves plans to wait and see what developments emerge in the coming weeks. Sporting are ready to sell Viktor Gyokeres this month, another player coveted by United, but have no plans to negotiate a lower fee for Goncalves. Al-Hilal meanwhile want a deal for Fernandes signed, sealed and delivered before their Club World Cup campaign begins in June. Despite the growing uncertainty over his skipper, Amorim remained defiant on Friday, still believing Fernandes will be leading his side out next season. More Trending 'I don't think so, I don't know for sure,' Amorim said when asked if Friday's friendly was Fernandes' last game. 'Nobody knows but I don't think so. 'I think he is seeing us taking some actions to change all the things and I think he saw that and I think he wants to stay. 'He is saying no to a lot of things but he shows he wants to win. He's really young, he's really good he needs to be in the best league in the world. 'We can find another way to earn money.' MORE: Man Utd dealt huge blow in pursuit of £50m Liam Delap alternative MORE: Man Utd still eager to sign Arsenal's £85m target after Liam Delap blow MORE: Man City ready bid to sign £34m star ahead of Man Utd and Liverpool
