20-goal midfielder is waiting for Liverpool bid and holding off Man Utd transfer

Sporting Lisbon midfielder Bruno Fernandes is waiting for Liverpool to make a bid for him and holding off a transfer move to desperate Man Utd.

Liverpool is the place to be and every aspiring footballer knows it. Sporting Lisbon star Bruno Fernandes is praying that Liverpool make a bid for him despite a huge transfer offer on the table from Manchester United.

The 24-year old Portuguese international had an outstanding season in Liga NOS racking up 20 goals and 13 assists from a central midfield position.

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The Liverpool midfield has been hugely effective this season – especially after the introduction of Fabinho to a regular role – but none of the current midfielders offer that kind of creativity and production from the central area.

Many Liverpool fans have been waiting for a Philippe Coutinho replacement for 18 months and Fernades fits that bill far better than the all-action Naby Keita or the driving runs of fit again Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Watching how the Liverpool midfield has played for the last two seasons under Jurgen Klopp it seems unlikely that the manager will want to compromise any work ethic for additional creativity. Any midfield addition would need to understand the system and put in a shift.

Bruno Fernandes is already anticipating that possibility as he goes out of his way to praise how the Reds play: ”

“I like Liverpool a lot… It’s more direct, more offensive, maybe less organized, but more intense football. They are more individual players, especially in the midfield, usually playing three very aggressive players and recovering the ball.”

The club have been linked to Fernandes since the beginning of the year but any transfer fee for the Portugal star would be north of £50 million. Man Utd are prepared to drop £80 million on him according to the latest reports.

I see this transfer as a remote possibility with the huge fee and an already well stocked midfield group at Anfield.