Man Utd boss Amorim says captain Bruno Fernandes “really important for what we want to build” amid Saudi exit rumours | OneFootball

Speculation over the future of Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes persists in the English media, with ongoing links to Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal after the close of the Premier League season.

United ended a disastrous campaign on Sunday with a 2-0 win over Aston Villa at Old Trafford, which did little to mask a 15th-place finish in the league. Focus now switches to the Red Devils’ summer transfer plans, which so far has been dominated by talk of an imminent major arrival as well as a sensational departure.

Wolverhampton Wanderes’ Brazilian forward Matheus Cunha has agreed a move to United which should be completed in the coming days. As Cunha’s arrival is now seen as a formality, more attention has shifted to the topic of Bruno Fernandes and a possible mega-money move to the Middle East.

Al Hilal are reportedly prepared to offer United €120m for Fernandes, who would be given a three-year contract worth well over €200m including bonuses. The eye-watering numbers have led many to suggest both United and Fernandes will give the proposals serious consideration, particularly given the Seleção man turns 31 this summer.

However, when the question was put to United manager Ruben Amorim during a press conference in Malaysia on Tuesday, the former Sporting boss indicated he is keen to keep his star man. Fernandes is also in Malaysia, with United embarking on a 2-match tour before going on their summer break.

“How important is it we keep him? We have said it many times, you can see by the performance, you can see by the leadership, you can see the passion he has for the game,” Amorim said. “So it’s really important [he stays] especially in this kind of moment.

“You could see that in the last game [against Aston Villa] I felt that the team was without pressure and they performed quite well; everybody wants the ball. But we had some difficult moments and you could see in those difficult moments that Bruno is the guy who takes responsibility.

“He should be, because he’s the captain, he’s experienced. So he’s really important for us and really important for what we want to build with this team.”

Cunha, who scored 15 goals for Vítor Pereira’s Wolves in the Premier League this term, will cost United close to €75m. Meanwhile, the club are also reported to be in talks with Brentford for exciting forward Bryan Mbeumo, who struck 20 league goals this season, as Amorim is backed to strengthen his goal-shy attack.