Manchester United will hope to bounce back to winning ways when they face rivals Manchester City in the Manchester derby on Sunday.
The Red Devils were beaten 1-0 by high-flying Nottingham Forest last time out, leaving Ruben Amorim’s side 13th in the table and likely to miss out on qualification for European football next term.
United’s best chance of qualifying for the Champions League next year would be by winning the Europa League, where they face French side Lyon over two legs in the quarter-finals later this month.
In the meantime, it has emerged that Amorim has made a huge decision on the future of one of his key players ahead of the upcoming transfer window.
GiveMeSport claims that the United head coach has told club captain Bruno Fernandes that he will not be allowed to leave Old Trafford this summer.
Fernandes has established himself as arguably United’s most important player
Fernandes, 30, has been undoubtedly United’s most impressive performer this season, netting 16 times and providing the same number of assists in 45 matches across all competitions.
The Portuguese midfielder is under contract until 2027, but the report claims that Spanish giants Real Madrid have started to show interest in the player ahead of this summer’s transfer window.
Amorim, however, is keen to build his side around the ex-Sporting CP man, and is therefore unwilling to allow him to leave during what will be his first summer transfer window as United head coach.
Fernandes joined United from Sporting in January 2020 and has since played more than 275 times for the Manchester club, scoring 95 goals and providing 92 assists.
Amorim is said to have shut down any possibility of the Portugal international – who currently earns around £375,ooo-per-week including bonuses – leaving Old Trafford this summer.
Having taken charge of United late last year, Amorim is likely to want to implement a number of changes to his squad during his first summer transfer window as the club’s head coach.