Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has previously said the club will not overpay for players but the Sporting chief is adamant Bruno will command a high price
Bruno Fernandes will certainly cost more than €62 million (£56m/$70m), Sporting C.P. president Frederico Varandas has insisted, amid reports of interest from Manchester United.
The Red Devils have been linked with the Portugal international for a number of months, with Ole Gunnar Solskajer seeing him as a potential replacement for Paul Pogba if the French playmaker were to leave this summer.
Reports in Portugal have claimed Man Utd are preparing a bid in the region of £56m ($70m), so Varandas’ latest comments will come as a blow to the Premier League side.
Solskjaer is looking to rebuild his squad after a poor end to the 2018-19 campaign and has already brought in Daniel James from Swansea and Aaron Wan-Bissaka from Crystal Palace.
And if big-name players like Pogba and Romelu Lukaku were to leave, the Norwegian would almost certainly need to bolster his options further, but Varandas insists Sporting do not need to sell the 24-year-old.
“I don’t know if there are many or if there are few [interested clubs],” he told RTP.
“What I know, a lot has been spoken of values, coming to the press, €55m, €62m… for that he doesn’t leave, for sure.
“If Bruno Fernandes leaves, players with quality will come. But if Bruno leaves.”
Solskjaer is set to receive a boost, though, with David de Gea reportedly preparing to sign a new six-year deal.
The Spain international appears eager to take on more responsibility at Old Trafford and says he would like to become captain after Antonio Valencia left the club at the end of last season.
And while Fernandes could still join the Red Devils, Solskjaer is adamant the club will not spend more than the market rate on any new signings.
“We have been linked with so many players,” the Man Utd boss told reporters earlier this month.
“I’m sure you don’t believe every single player that we’ve been linked with, but I think that Manchester United sometimes have, because of the wealth, maybe we have had to pay more, a bigger premium to get players in, and that’s just the world we live in.
“And we’ve taken our time, we’re not going to overpay, but we have to get the right people in, the right players.”
Source:www.goal.com