Man Utd ‘offer desperate Fernandes’ plus £17m in ‘sacrifice’ for Barcelona star in sensational swap deal

Man Utd have offered Bruno Fernandes in exchange for Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong with the Portugal midfielder willing to go, according to reports.

Fernandes has been the Red Devils’ standout player this season and has been for the majority of the time since he swapped Sporting Lisbon for Old Trafford in 2020.

There has also been criticism of the Portugal international – who has contributed 15 goals and nine assists in all competitions this season – with pundits and former players annoyed by his finger-pointing and negative body language on the pitch.

Fernandes probably hasn’t won enough trophies in his career for his ability and the Man Utd captain recently hinted that he could have to leave Old Trafford in the near future.

When asked by DAZN Portugal about his future, Fernandes said: “Obviously, it doesn’t just depend on me, does it?

“A player always has to want to be here, but at the same time, you have to want him to stay. At the moment, I feel there’s that on both sides.

“I’m not thinking too much about the future, not least because, obviously, this season hasn’t been at the level I’d hoped for, either individually or collectively, so far.

“So, if you want me to be very honest, if I have to think about not continuing in the Premier League, it won’t be until after the Euros because nothing will be able to take my focus away from the FA Cup final and the Euros, as there’s nothing more important than that at the moment.”

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And now Spanish newspaper Nacional claims that Man Utd have now ‘offered a swap’ involving Fernandes as they ‘continue to insist on the signing of’ De Jong from Barcelona.

The Netherlands international ‘still appears on Jim Ratcliffe’s list of priority objectives’ with speculation that Man Utd could sign him going on for a couple of years.

And now the Red Devils are willing to ‘sacrifice’ Fernandes to land the Barcelona star and Man Utd are ‘offering an exchange of parts, with money involved’.

Man Utd ‘do not want to pay’ the €90m asking price for De Jong and have instead ‘offer compensation of €20m (£17m)’ plus Fernandes to get hold of their long-term target.

Fernandes for his part ‘would give the OK to Barca with his eyes closed’ and is ‘willing to lower his salary to be able to put himself under Xavi’s command’, while ‘convincing De Jong may be the most complicated part’.

‘Bruno is a very good player who would suit a lot of clubs’

The Portuguese midfielder’s future is far from clear but former Man Utd striker Michael Owen reckons Fernandes “would suit a lot of clubs” in world football.

Owen said: “Bruno is a very good player who would suit a lot of clubs. I think Man United are going through probably more important things than worrying about a player here or there at the moment.

“Man United have had great players since Sir Alex left, spent more than anyone, and look where they are. It’s more important that they get their things sorted off pitch first.

“Get the right manager first, get the right team behind the scenes, from scouts to directors, the final steps then will be to see them build. But trying to just buy your way with players has been proven not to work. They can go and spend another £200m, but while things are not right behind the scenes it won’t matter.

“If you fast forward five years and say a star player will leave, it will be a disaster, but at the moment there are far bigger fish to fry in terms of a manager and structure behind the scenes.

“He can score and create, who wouldn’t want him, though? I haven’t seen the interview, but I’d have thought the captain of Man United wouldn’t do that though and come out and say he wants to leave. But if he does then he does.”