Rene Meulensteen believes Bruno Fernandes could be tempted to leave Manchester United if offers come from Real Madrid and Barcelona in the summer.
Fernandes has been in excellent form since Michael Carrick took over as interim head coach following the sacking of Ruben Amorim.
The Portuguese midfielder was deployed deeper in a second midfield under Amorim, but reaped the benefits of his more advanced attacking midfield role under Carrick.
Only Erling Haaland, 27, has scored more than 18 goals for Fernandes this season, but despite this there are still some doubts over the 31-year-old’s long-term future at Old Trafford.
Fernandes is still under contract with United until 2027 with an option for a further year, but reports suggest the midfielder has included a £56.6 million (€65 million) release clause in his current contract, which can only be activated by foreign clubs.
Real previously expressed interest in Fernandes, and former United coach Meulensteen believes the Portuguese midfielder would take up the offer if the Spanish giants submitted an offer in the summer.
Meulensteen told BetGoat: “I think he is very connected to United and loyal.
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“I think there could be a case where another team, perhaps in Saudi Arabia, comes knocking with a significant amount of money because we all know the money situation at United.
‘He has been with United for a number of years and is arguably their best player of the last six seasons. What he has contributed, even in bad moments for United, he is the one who has consistently delivered.
“If you ask me, if a team like Real Madrid or maybe Barcelona came along, he might be tempted to say: ‘Listen, I want to experience that.’
‘But not for another Premier League team.’
Despite being 31 years old, Fernandes’ performance shows no signs of slowing down, with Danny Murphy recently labeling the midfielder as the best attacking midfielder in European football.
“Bruno got his goal with a beautiful finish to cap off a brilliant performance considering he actually had one of his worse performances last week,” Murphy told Match of the Day after United’s victory over Tottenham.
‘I played the game against Fulham and he wasn’t at his best. But at the moment he is perhaps the best number 10 in Europe.’
And Michael Owen echoed Murphy’s sentiments, suggesting Fernandes could be ‘impossible’ to replace if he leaves United this summer.
“If a huge amount of money comes in, a decision has to be made,” he recently said Subway. ‘He clearly also has a high salary. But if he goes, it will hit them hard. They will have to replace him with someone good.
‘Everyone’s saying, ‘Oh, Manchester United are flying now, how many players do they need to get to the next level and maybe challenge for the title?’ in reality it’s about how they replace one or two that are going to work and how they add something to improve quality.
‘It’s a very difficult issue because he is so good that you understand that if there is a huge amount of money coming in for someone of that age, why it could be something that Manchester United would look at.
‘But trying to replace him would be virtually impossible. So it’s really a matter of watching this space, but it’s a bit of a mystery for everyone involved.”
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