Chronicle Editor
Cape Town – Manchester United’s failure to complete the capture of Leicester City defender Harry Maguire is holding up a deal for Sporting Lisbon midfielder Bruno Fernandes,
Fernandes broke down in tears at the end of Sporting’s 2-1 friendly defeat to Valencia on Sunday and may outlets have described it as a ‘hint’ he could be on the way to the Red Devils.
On Monday, A Bola claimed that United are ‘preparing’ an offer of €72 million (£64.9 million) with a further €5 million (£4.5 million) in add-ons, as well as a five-year contract worth €30 million (£27 million).
With further dramatic headlines on Tuesday, including ‘It smells like farewell’ with another headline inside A Bola saying, ‘The hour of goodbye’.
However, A Bola (via Sport Witness) is back on Wednesday to tell us that ‘Manchester United are on the horizon’ but Sporting are yet to receive an official offer for the Portugal international.
Sport Witness adds that United’s struggles to agree a deal for Leicester defender Maguire ‘is thought to have stalled things’ in the Fernandes deal while their chase of Paulo Dybala is proving to be a ‘distraction’.
Leicester will reportedly let Maguire go if they receive at least £85 million but the Daily Telegraph claims that United ‘are still some way from making any progress’.
Meanwhile, Dybala is reportedly involved in talks over a switch to Old Trafford in what could effectively turn into a swap deal, with Belgium international Romelu Lukaku heading in the opposite direction. – Sport24.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter