29th January, 2020
Manchester United have announced an agreement with Sporting Clube de Portugal for the transfer of Bruno Fernandes.
According to manutd.com, the deal is subjected to a medical and the agreement of personal terms.
A further announcement will be made in due course, the club stated.
Bruno Fernandes is a 25-year-old Portuguese who plays as a midfielder.
On 27 June 2017, Fernandes joined Sporting CP for five years, for a reported fee of €8.5 million plus bonuses and a buyout clause of €100 million. He scored four goals in his first five Primeira Liga games, including a brace in a 5–0 away win against Vitória de Guimarães.
Fernandes’ first appearance in the UEFA Champions League group stage was on 12 September 2017, where he put the visitors 3–0 ahead in the 43rd minute of an eventual 3–2 win at Olympiacos FC. He finished his first season with 16 goals across all competitions, second only to Bas Dost.
Fernandes was named the Portuguese League’s Player of the Year on 6 July 2018. Four days later he signed a new five-year contract with a €100 million release clause, having turned back on his original decision to leave the Estádio José Alvalade following the departure of club president Bruno de Carvalho, and being given an improved salary in the process.
Fernandes scored his 23rd competitive goal of the 2018–19 campaign during a 3–1 home win against Portimonense S.C. on 3 March 2019, through a late penalty, surpassing António Oliveira’s club record for goals by a midfielder in a season, set in 1981–82.
On 5 May, he scored a hat-trick in an 8–1 away rout of Belenenses SAD, in the process becoming the highest-scoring Portuguese midfielder in a single season of all time, with 31 goals to his name. He scored his 33rd and final goal of the season on 25 May 2019, during Sporting’s victory against Porto in the Taça de Portugal final.
On 29 January 2020, English club Manchester United confirmed that they had reached an agreement with Sporting for the transfer of Fernandes, for a fee reported to be worth up to £68 million.