A lot of the posts in this thread are weird, in that it seems like a common line of thought here that it’s the club that wants to sell Bruno? It seems more likely that he wants to leave
Bruno Fernandes Out?
- Thread starter Berbaclass
- Start date
Have you seen anything resembling such foresight at United in the last decade?
I can not actually think of a club in Europe right now that has the financial mean to meet Man Utd's asking price for a 29 year old #10. May as well do a combo deal selling Bruno + Rashford + Casemiro to Saudi for 250m.
That is how I read it. He is tired of the sport project in Utd.
Things are changing.
They weren't changing yet last summer, when we bought Mount, so there was surely no such plan.
Surely he must be exploring his options, turns 30 in a few months, probably no European football next season and we are at least 2-3 years away from competing at the top of the table.
You might have missed it, but there was a 12+ month sale process and some lad called Jim bought a percentage of the club in February (after the summer)
Now he is trying to effect a change at the club by hiring competent experienced people in key positions. I know, madness, right?!!
Disagree actually, I think INEOS were already dictating things last summer to an extent, which is why we went for the loans of Reguilon and Amrabat and have focused a lot on moving players on so our balance sheet and numbers for this window is better.
That doesn't specifically relate to Mount but Bruno is 30 this year and I think they already rebuffed offers last year from Saudi. Anyone who has ever watched him could easily say, with how he plays the game and the amount of physicality it requires it's only a matter of time before he drops off a cliff because he has played a LOT of football.
I think Mount being English, approaching prime age, more of a team player and can fit into different systems and roles more than Bruno. I think they were thinking about this scenario when they bought Mount as a 'potential' replacement.
You're missing something.
I responded to a post that claimed "I wonder if we bought Mount knowing that we would try and shift Bruno this year".
When we bought Mount, nearly a year ago, Ratcliffe and his people were not involved yet.
You don’t think the manager would have any ideas on succession planning for his squad?
We went for those loans because we didn't have money to spend on anything.
Who in INEOS would have been dictating such things? There was no Ashworth, no Wilcos, no Berrada. Who would have said "let's buy Mount because we'll sell Bruno in a year's time"?
Wishful thinking is nice, but it's not connected to reality in this case.
Fergie would have. I haven't seen such things from our managers since.
And again, that's got nothing to do with INEOS.
It's not wishful thinking at all mate. They were in advanced negotiations at the time and wanted tight control on incomings/outgoings to help us this year with the PSR limits.
Letting go of Bruno would be a huge mistake. He's pretty much the only player in the squad that comes close to a WC player, and he's a big role model for younger fans.
If true, and he does want to leave, then let him. He gave us his best and I've nothing but admiration for him. As I said previously, I don't really want him to leave, but I guess there's going to be difficult times either way whilst the squad is retooled.
And what if the INEOS bid fell through , then what ?
Mount was signed by ETH to play the 8 role alongside Bruno plus team depth. That's it.
Now, if Bruno does leave this summer then we have a decent back up in Mount but the Englishman being a replacement now wasn't in design.
Mount was signed by ETH to play the 8 role alongside Bruno plus team depth. That's it.
Now, if Bruno does leave this summer then we have a decent back up in Mount but the Englishman being a replacement now wasn't in design.
It would need to be massive money. 9 figures minimum.
We're well and truly fecked if that was the plan all along.
Of course it's wishful thinking. You don't give someone control over multi-million decisions just because you're in negotiations with him.
And again, who in INEOS would have made that decision? They clearly want to bring in football people to decide such matter. Who in INEOS, in the summer of 2023, could have decided Mount is worth investing tons of money in?
This would make my summer, he’s a great professional but a complete liability unfortunately in midfield, we need a complete overhaul and reset right now. Given his age, wages, and the status he would require within the team which doesn’t correspond with his abilities on the pitch it is essential we sell him. Same as Rashford basically.
If we do sell him, and I do think it is a big if... it shows we are thinking differently as a club. His value will only decline from here on in. His output cannot be replaced but maybe his style has only furthered the chaotic performances over the past few years. Interesting times.
Depends on how advanced the negotiations are and what the relationship is like between the two negotiating parties. Everything suggests that the relationship between Ratcliffe/INEOS is very good and it's quite plausible that during the negotiations it was a stipulation of Ratcliffe/INEOS. After all the Glazers actively wanted to sell and we now know that INEOS was probably the only viable buyer with how they wanted to remain in some capacity.
I don't believe it is uncommon at all for a selling party to tighten finances up whilst in the process of a sale.
Whatever flaws bruno has to his game are greatly outweighed by his contributions. We just don’t create enough and don’t have any suitable players in the squad to replace him nor can we stretch the budget for enough when we arguably need 2 CBs and 2 CMs as part of the summer recruitment. I would keep Bruno another 2 years before finding his long term replacement.
I think Bruno will definitely leave in the summer, don't blame him really - he's running out of time to collect some big trophies to show for his career. He's been a great servant so no hard feelings from me. Hopefully we can get a good amount of funds in for the rebuild.
Bruno is a good footballer but doesn’t suit the kind of football great teams play or the football I personally want to see us play. Having said that our options are crap and he’s our best player so selling him doesn’t make sense unless you have someone superb lined up. And while FDJ is good, his reluctance to come here is a huge issue especially when you compare it to Bruno who is always available, always leaves everything on the pitch and our captain. So this doesn’t sense imo.
Fair enough. I did then go on to say that I’d sell Rashford but keep Bruno.
But Rashford and Bruno aren't on that list. They're all players that either aren't good enough or need to be replaced anyway due to age, amongst other things.
Regardless of how people feel about Rashford and Bruno, they've been our best two attacking players in terms of goals and assists over the last several seasons. Bruno is our top scorer this season, despite it probably being his worst since he joined the club.
These aren't two players you can get rid of and not replace with someone of at least the same quality. That's going to cost money, so it's extremely unlikely you'd come out of that better off, especially going into a season without UCL (or any European football for that matter) which will reduce our ability to attract the best rising stars over our traditional rivals and the oil rich.
But it was a plan so that still proves the point.
Struggling to see how Inter could afford him.
They'd probably need to break their transfer record, as well as make him their highest earner...but he would be their best player. However, his age would have to be factored in and I don't see how Inter would go above and beyond for a 30 year old player. If he was 25, sure, but I don't see any Italian teams breaking the bank for him at this point.
That's nothing but a RedCafe and LUHG brigade myth, though...if you said not good enough to start for a title winning team, that still wouldn't be true...not good enough to be part of one is an even more ridiculous thing to say
They'd probably need to break their transfer record, as well as make him their highest earner...but he would be their best player. However, his age would have to be factored in and I don't see how Inter would go above and beyond for a 30 year old player. If he was 25, sure, but I don't see any Italian teams breaking the bank for him at this point.
That's nothing but a RedCafe and LUHG brigade myth, though...if you said not good enough to start for a title winning team, that still wouldn't be true...not good enough to be part of one is an even more ridiculous thing to say
This should be a cautionary tale over waiting too long and allowing standards to drop so low he's probably thinking he only has a few years left at the top and he's not going to waste it trying to rebuild under a useless manager knowing that they're not going to get anywhere he probably has seen the standards from Ronaldo from his time here and in Portugal camp and he probably thinks that if ten hag is sticking around then there's no point in him staying.
He knows that we won't win anything fair play to him we're not going to be winning a Cup next season we're probably not even going to finish top four.
He knows that we won't win anything fair play to him we're not going to be winning a Cup next season we're probably not even going to finish top four.
It would need a huge sum for us to part with Bruno, but a huge sum would do it I think. I wouldn't say he's unsellable. Obviously the worry is that we sell a reliable performer and buy 3 injury crocked part timers. That would suck. But if the club is turning around its recruitment, we could revamp a couple of positions at once with the money from Bruno. And while Bruno is among our best players, there is a question mark about whether he's the style of footballer we want. If the aim is to introduce control into our play, that doesn't necessarily play to Bruno's strengths (even if his profligacy is often overstated).
My thoughts on Fernandes as a player have always been mixed -- freak chance creator with insane durability, great mentality (less the tantrums and ref stuff), and generally speaking is probably pound for pound our best player... But letting him go frees up a lot in terms of tactical structure.
It allows the move to a more conventional three man midfield, for instance. For me, the ideal midfield three looks something like:
** - decent chance creator, good under the press, can go both ways, also recycles the ball well.
Mainoo exhibits a lot of the traits needed for a central midfield to move the ball quick and with tidy feet under pressure. Putting two more players in there with like-minded traits would be nice. We would probably lose a lot of the long ball and chance creation counter-attack punch Casemiro and Fernandes offer, but we'd probably also be better at avoiding end-to-end slug-punch stuff.
It allows the move to a more conventional three man midfield, for instance. For me, the ideal midfield three looks something like:
No.6*
Mainoo -- No.8**
* - decent stature to win duels, quick enough across the ground, recycles ball wellMainoo -- No.8**
** - decent chance creator, good under the press, can go both ways, also recycles the ball well.
Mainoo exhibits a lot of the traits needed for a central midfield to move the ball quick and with tidy feet under pressure. Putting two more players in there with like-minded traits would be nice. We would probably lose a lot of the long ball and chance creation counter-attack punch Casemiro and Fernandes offer, but we'd probably also be better at avoiding end-to-end slug-punch stuff.
Would be a barbaric decision to sell him before the likes of Casemiro and Rashford.
The only plus of selling him is that we should justifiably demand a hefty fee and it may make the Mount signing a bit more sense.
Nevertheless, I’m not ready to see the back of our Bruno. Give him a spine to our midfield and I feel he can hit the heights of early Bruno again.
The only plus of selling him is that we should justifiably demand a hefty fee and it may make the Mount signing a bit more sense.
Nevertheless, I’m not ready to see the back of our Bruno. Give him a spine to our midfield and I feel he can hit the heights of early Bruno again.
Might be a case of Bruno's agent letting clubs know he is wanting to leave to compete for the main titles and play in the UCL (hence why Inter's involved) during his prime. Out of the host of player/manager issues at the club, I can't see Ineos trying to get rid of Bruno, even though he's probably one of our main saleable assets.
Unfortunately it never works linearly to get rid of players like that. If the deal is a good one, we should take it.
As others have mentioned, the leaks feel a bit on Fernandes' side putting feelers out rather than the club.
Well, Mainoo-Rice-Fernandes is a title winning midfield and the club only have themselves to blame for not getting it done last summer.
Seeing that Liverpool was in the title race until matchweek 34 with a Szoboszlai-Endo-Mac Allister midfield, and Arsenal might still win it with Odegaard playing as an advanced #8/#10 for them, whilst also not having a proper left-sided ball carrier #8 like Mainoo, you're still very wrong.
Is he compatible with Mainoo in a three man midfield and if so who is the third man?
Great player great stats but you can't hide the fact we are being run past by most midfields in the premier league this season and none of our current midfield combinations work with him.
To be fair none seem to work without him either.
Unless we a thinking of going three at the back I am at a loss as to how to get out of the mess our midfield has become over the last ten years.
Great player great stats but you can't hide the fact we are being run past by most midfields in the premier league this season and none of our current midfield combinations work with him.
To be fair none seem to work without him either.
Unless we a thinking of going three at the back I am at a loss as to how to get out of the mess our midfield has become over the last ten years.
He'd be equal with the obvious youngsters at the bottom of my list of players to ship out. We're toothless without him and we have far too much work to do this summer without adding a talismanic creator to the list.
A number 6 like Rice, Rodri, Palhinha, or Tchouaméni.
I reckon he is gone if a good offer comes in.
The interview a few weeks ago was the come and get me.
He probably deserves to go to a better set up and win something before his legs go
The interview a few weeks ago was the come and get me.
He probably deserves to go to a better set up and win something before his legs go