05 Feb 2024 12:10:46
ED

There reports that A Saudi club made a gigantic offer for Bruno this past jan, which eh turned down . Not sure what gigantic means and is there any truth to it.

In your opinion would united sell the likes of fernandes and Rashford if the right offer came in.

{Ed002's Note - Bruno Fernandes (AM) ME beckons after an offer from Al Hilal was rejected by the player. May well depart in the summer when there will be many changes.
Marcus Rashford (F) Much will depend on what happens in the summer regarding a new coach, but I am sure Manchester United will be regretting the new long-term contract. A third-party has spoken to clubs about him but I am not aware of any interest. Suggestion that he could be a Mbappe replacement at PSG seem far-fetched given they have other clear targets in mind.}

1.) 05 Feb 2024
05 Feb 2024 14:41:13
Really sorry to show my ignorance and general thickery but what does ME stand for in Ed002’s very informative reply please? Guessing it’s another football destination?

Sorry to ask - don’t want to annoy Ed002, who is always so generous in providing information!

{Ed002's Note - Sorry, Middle East.}

2.) 05 Feb 2024
05 Feb 2024 15:31:33
Thanks for taking the time to clarify this Ed002!

3.) 05 Feb 2024
05 Feb 2024 17:22:43
Thank you ed002. always appreciated.

4.) 05 Feb 2024
05 Feb 2024 17:58:15
Bruno is a weird one, on one hand he is by far our most creative player and has been a key man in every season at the club. While on the other hand he does have a tendency to give the ball away by trying to force the final ball a little too often. I'm not sure if that is just the way he is as a player, or whether that is because there is lo little creativity from his teammates he feels he has to do something when he has a chance.

On one hand do we really want to lose a player who has been so key to us, especially while seemingly without a player who looks poised to take over the mantle from him. I'm never comfortable with selling a player whose performing to a good level, while relying on a player being signed to step up and fill that void.

Maybe I'm overlooking Mason Mount, and there is no reason why he couldn't be the player to step up. Unfortunately we haven't seen his full potential yet.

While on the other hand, if we are to move into a different way of playing and a new approach on and off the pitch, then does a player who turns 30 in September really going to be a key player to build around?

Maybe taking a big transfer fee for a soon to be 30 year old who is on big wages might be the way forward. Maybe Bruno a bit like Coutinho at Liverpool is a great player, but slightly to individualistic for a new style team.

Reading between the lines it seems like a big part of the INEOS rebuild of the football structure at the club is a very different approach to the wage structure at the club. To that end moving on the highest earners might be something that has to be done, even if it means losing some of our best players in the short-term.

Personally Bruno is a player I'd probably look to keep around for another year or two. Someone to add a little experience to what looks like a bright young side who could be starting to form at the club. Then maybe in 2 years time he moves on when the likes of Mainoo, Garnacho and Hojlund have had 2-3 years under their belt.

However, if he is sold I will certainly understand why.

5.) 05 Feb 2024
05 Feb 2024 20:49:05
You have 3 hands?

6.) 05 Feb 2024
05 Feb 2024 21:49:37
Bruno, despite all the theatrics, has been consistently our best player over the last few seasons. He’s a quality operator and I’d be happy to keep him for at least another 2 or 3 seasons.

I don’t think Mount will get anywhere near the level of Bruno tbh.

7.) 06 Feb 2024
06 Feb 2024 01:19:36
AJH, how else do you think I type so much ?.

8.) 06 Feb 2024
06 Feb 2024 06:38:28
Hes tried admirably to curb the excesses in his game but he doesn't look the same player now as when he joined and his numbers have dipped a lot now that we don't get anywhere as near as many penalties.

Would be right to sell him, Casemiro and Varane for decent money to help with ffp along with Mcterminator and Maguire.

9.) 06 Feb 2024
06 Feb 2024 06:57:54
Fireman, last season, our best players were Martinez, Cas, and Rashford. Bruno didn't get close.

10.) 06 Feb 2024
06 Feb 2024 10:02:00
I would be going they come back in for him in the summer with another great offer.
I'm of the opinion that the club won't begin to heal fully and improve until every player that played under ole is gone. The standards were on the floor and that needs to change quicker than it has.

11.) 06 Feb 2024
06 Feb 2024 17:11:52
Bruno is our most creative player, but if he decides to move on, I wish him all the best.

Who makes the decision on his replacement though if ETH goes. We don't have great recent history of buying players that the manager wants or fits into a style of play we are aiming for.

12.) 07 Feb 2024
07 Feb 2024 13:45:00
If there is an 'enormous' offer for Bruno, we should cash in and use the funds for the re-build. We need big changes to the playing staff, that's going to take cash and with the FFP guidelines getting a massive cash influx and removing the top earners will give us the headroom to facilitate the changes required. Removing Bruno, Martial, Verane, Casermero, Sancho, Maguire, Eriksen and Antony would remove circa. £2m from the weekly wage bill. Also apart from Rashford it would re-calibrate the wage structure (If PSG came knocking I wouldn't be surprised if we sold Rashford to them to replace Mbappe) .

13.) 08 Feb 2024
08 Feb 2024 06:51:50
Can't see us entertaining any offers for Bruno unless he wants to go. Given the volume of players who will likely head for the exit this summer, guys like Bruno who are under contract and so reliable and important to the team in terms of minutes played and his influence on the pitch would not be on the list imo.

You have to be careful not to go overboard as we will have a chelsea situation of way too many new young players and no senior leadership and a bit of a mess until they mature, gel etc etc

I think fergie has a rule of max 5 players if I am not mistaken and rarely did that.

14.) 09 Feb 2024
09 Feb 2024 10:11:06
Ahmad, I think it depends on the new direction of the club.

Sir Alex was a master of knowing when to move a player on, that is something we have sorely missed since he left. Holding on to players who have flopped in the hope that 3 or 4 years down the line it'll suddenly click. Or keeping aging and declining players because we either don't want to spend the money to replace them or we don't trust our ability to bring in a suitable replacement.

I like Bruno and accept he is a vital part of our current team.

Yet I've also said that this squad needs a 2-3 year rebuilding phase probably replacing 15-18 players in our squad. I genuinely think we need that before we will have a team truly ready to compete for major honours.

That means Bruno will be 31/ 32 at least before we have a team ready to compete. What will his role be then, and do we either extend his deal or let him leave for free?

The club has a difficult task of trying to rebuild while staying within FFP. To do so we will need to make some sales that bring in significant funds.

Do we sacrifice Bruno a year or two sooner than we might like in order to bring in a big fee, remove a player with a big contract, and start to embrace a new playing identity.

Personally as important as Bruno has been and as much as I appreciate his skills, we can't build the new team around him. So either he will have to adapt and find a new role/ niche within the team or he will need to move on.

It might be better to move him on rather than change his role due to that probably reducing his impact and perceived value meaning selling further down the line will almost certainly be at a reduced price to what we could get now.

The more I think about it the more I feel we might already have the right player to replace him in Mason Mount. Someone who has as good technique, works as hard, but is better at pressing, more adaptable, and a more intelligent player in terms of his passing and positioning.

He probably won't score and assist as many goals as Bruno (although he did manage 10+ goals and 10+ assists in several seasons at Chelsea), but he will be a player who will be able to bring the best out of players like Højlund, Rashford and Garnacho.

Either way if a big offer comes in the Bruno this summer then the club should seriously consider it.