Bruno Fernandes' £50m transfer wish set to come true

Stuart Telford

• 18 Apr 2023 11:07 BST
• 3 min read

Manchester United have entered the race to sign Matheus Nunes from Wolves, much to the delight of his Portugal teammate Bruno Fernandes.

United are set for a busy summer transfer window, whether or not the Glazer family are still in ownership of the club by that point, with Erik ten Hag having clearly identified some key areas of the squad he want to improve.

A goalscoring No.9 is a matter of urgency with 27-goal top scorer Marcus Rashford preferring to line up on the left - with Harry Kane and Victor Osimhen the most closely linked - while his flip-flopping between Diogo Dalot and Aaron Wan-Bissaka can be taken as testament that he trusts neither right-back 100 per cent.

READ: Buyers beware! Why Man Utd should be wary of signing first-choice De Gea replacement

But now a central midfielder has been added to Ten Hag's list. The Dutch coach reportedly wants to be able to play the 4-3-3 he won six major honours with at Ajax at Old Trafford next season and Nunes would fit the bill.

According to Football Insider, Wolves would accept £50 million for a player they paid Sporting CP €45m (£39.7m) for last August. Despite sharing a position with Fernandes, he would welcome the competition.

Fernandes 'already talked' to Nunes

"I've already talked to him," he said last August with Barcelona, Liverpool and Newcastle also pursuing Nunes' signature. "I've already told him that he should have come here and not there. I'm very happy for him."

READ: Why Man Utd want to SELL Bruno Fernandes this summer

Coming to England instead of Catalonia has indeed worked out for Nunes, who has won 146 duels and averaged 30 passes per match, making him an asset on both sides of the ball.

That Nunes is also comfortable occupying a deeper position to Fernandes will also be welcome to United's regular captain. Fernandes - who has been wearing the armband in Harry Maguire's absence - has played as one half of a double pivot in recent weeks but would rather be at No.10.