Bruno Fernandes is gaining interest from Real Madrid amid claims he could leave for £90million this summer and Manchester United could soon have to start planning for their captain’s succession in the event he leaves Old Trafford
Manchester United could have some succession planning to do after news that Real Madrid are weighing up a £90million bid for their talisman Bruno Fernandes. The Portuguese playmaker has carried the Red Devils this season and he single-handedly helped them reach the Europa League quarter-finals.
Fernandes has 16 goals in all competitions this season and 13 assists, despite United enduring their worst ever Premier League campaign under both Erik ten Hag and Ruben Amorim. The team are currently 13th in the table.
Without Fernandes, United could be even lower in the table and there may be some concern for next season if the club agree to sell him to Madrid. United’s financial difficulties have been well-documented after making 200 job cuts earlier this year, while free lunches in the canteen have been scrapped and matchday ticket prices increased.
The club could be tempted to cash in, which would allow them to reinvest in other areas of the squad – but they would need to ensure they get a quality replacement for the Portugal international first. Mirror Football has taken a look at five players who could replace Fernandes at Old Trafford.
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Mikel Damsgaard
If United are looking for a quality playmaker who can play in the No 10 like Fernandes does, but also knows the Premier League well, then they should look no further than Brentford’s unsung hero Mikel Damsgaard.
The Danish international is only 24 but is turning heads in the top flight this season thanks to his incredible creative displays.
He currently has ten assists, which puts him joint-second with Fulham’s Antonee Robinson and Arsenal star Bukayo Saka.
Damsgaard has been Brentford’s primary engine this season and his performances have probably gone under the radar. He actually has one more assist than Fernandes does in the Premier League.
There have been suggestions he could be a Red Devils player this summer – but that was before the links between Fernandes and Madrid emerged.
There were some questions over whether Damsgaard and Fernandes could play in the same time, but should he leave, the Denmark international could be the perfect replacement who can even improve as a football in the coming years.
Eberechi Eze
The Crystal Palace has enjoyed yet another impressive season for Crystal Palace that has been capped off with a first England goal against Latvia in the recent international break.
The 26-year-old has long had admirers among the top Premier League clubs in the country and after scoring four goals and providing nine assists, he might be ready for the next step in his career.
Eze will have just two years to run on his deal at Selhurst Park this summer and Palace could be tempted by a sizeable offer this summer, in a bid to receive the maximum transfer fee for a player that cost £17m from QPR in 2020.
Reports have claimed Eze has a release clause of £68m, and while Eze would be able to play in other positions – such as on the wing – there could be questions over whether spending such a huge fee would be wise given past transfer flops like Antony and Rasmus Hojlund.
Morgan Gibbs-White
Another Premier League playmaker who has flourished this season and should have little trouble adapting to life at Old Trafford.
Gibbs-White has been one of the standouts in Nottingham Forest’s incredible season that has seen them become of the favourites to secure a shock place in the Champions League next season.
Forest are currently third in the Premier League table, only four points behind second-placed Arsenal, with Gibbs-White central to their superb displays.
The former Wolves star has five goals and seven assists in the top flight, assisting a goal in each of his last two league games. United fans and officials should be well accustomed with Gibbs-White, having seen him score and assist against them in a 3-2 win for Forest at Old Trafford in December.
Gibbs-White was a record signing at the City Ground after joining for a reported £25m in 2022, and the Forest hierarchy would be unwilling to lose their star player unless they received a huge fee – especially given they are set to play in the Champions League next season.
Similarly, Gibbs-White might question the idea of spurning the chance to mix it in Europe’s elite if United are without any European football next season, which will be a reality if they fail to win the Europa League.
Oscar Gloukh
The Israeli playmaker is not a player who every United fan will have heard of but he is beginning to slowly ramp up interest across Europe after some eye-catching displays for Red Bull Salzburg in the Austrian top flight.
Glouk is a 20-year-old attacking midfielder who has 10 goals in just 20 games for Salzburg so far this season.
He can also play on the wing and there have already been reports from the Manchester Evening News that United have idenitified Glouk as a future successor for Fernandes earlier this season.
The report claimed United were planning for a future without Fernandes long before Madrid came along and Glouk was seen as a player who could have incredible potential – with other Premier League sides also chasing him too.
Glouk started his career with Maccabi Tel Aviv in his native Israel before joining Salzburg for just £6million in 2023. He has scored 21 goals in 90 appearances for Salzburg, helping them win the title in 2022-23.
Xavi Simons
There have been many whispers that United have been looking at Dutch youngster Xavi Simons over the years – as one of those players that speculation refuses to avoid.
Simons can play anywhere along the front four positions but has primarily played in the attacking midfield role for Leipzig, the club he only joined for around £40m in January.
But there have been claims that Simons could still depart this summer after German reporter Christian Falk said it was “surprising” he joined the club on a permanent deal after his initial loan deal last season.
He’s scored 18 goals in 68 appearances for Leipzig and this season he has seven goals in five assists. Simons started off in Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy in 2010 before joining PSG and later PSV, where he netted 22 times from 48 appearances in the 2022-23 campaign.
Now Falk has claimed it is “likely” Leipzig will sell Simons this summer, with the possibility he could fetch a transfer fee up around £66m. He said United would be leading the chase, along with Liverpool and Manchester City – with Leipzig happy to make a profit in the event that the player does choose to leave.
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