Manchester United may be able to give Rúben Amorim what he begged for as one Premier League star included on a five-man replacement list for Bruno Fernandes.
Amid Manchester United’s poor season across 2024/25, Bruno Fernandes has been a shining light once again, proving his quality and abilities beyond doubt.
Reports last week emerged that Real Madrid were plotting a possible £90 million bid for the Portuguese international amid a level of uncertainty surrounding his future at Old Trafford.
However, head coach Rúben Amorim batted away the notion of Fernandes’ exit. “No, it’s not going to happen,” he said when asked about the rumours in his press conference before Tuesday’s Premier League trip to Nottingham Forest.
When asked how he could be so confident, the 40-year-old added: “He’s not going anywhere because I’ve already told him.”
Five-man replacement list for Fernandes explained
Although there is no chance that the 30-year-old will leave Old Trafford this summer, barring an inexplicable turn of events, there is a question surrounding how he could be replaced long-term.
While Fernandes continues to prove himself as one of the Premier League’s greatest-ever midfielders and shows no sign of slowing down, with United preparing for the future, a question must be asked about who could replace the Portuguese international in the long term.
With this in mind, The Mirror compiled five players who are in a good position to succeed the club captain in his creative duties.
The first three players on the list are all Premier League talents. First off, they mention Brentford’s Mikkel Damsgaard as a viable candidate, with former United defender Paul Parker recently stating that the Danish international could replace either Joshua Zirkzee or Alejandro Garnacho.
Secondly, 26-year-old Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze was also listed as an option, with Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White also suggested following his fantastic campaign under Nuno Espírito Santo.
Elsewhere, the club have been encouraged to look toward the Bundesliga to replace the captain. Israli playmaker Oscar Gloukh has been touted as a potential long-term replacement for Fernandes, while Xavi Simons is a midfielder United like the look of, although it’s expected Simons would cost upward of £67 million to sign.
United can give Amorim what he begged for
With Fernandes not leaving United any time soon, Amorim recently made a public admission that he wishes he had more players like the midfielder in his squad.
Many United fans will agree that if the club had more players like Fernandes, they would be much better off, and Gibbs-White may be the perfect player for United to hand Amorim exactly this.
Fernandes has made a habit of dropping deep so far under Amorim, choosing to collect the ball from the centre-backs before turning, passing the ball to the forwards, and running into the final third himself to either score or assist.
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This is precisely the football the recent England international is displaying at Forest. Against Man City last month, he produced a brilliant pass to push Forest up the pitch before delivering a lung-busting run to get into the area himself with fewer than 10 minutes left to play.
Although Callum Hudson-Odoi finished the effort, Gibbs-White received much of the praise for his involvement in the goal.
According to various reports, Forest would look for a fee of around £50 million if they were to sell the 25-year-old this summer. United signed Fernandes for around £47 million when he was 25 years of age in 2020, and they could look to sign a player just like him for a similar fee this summer.
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