Deal close to being finalised for Portuguese midfielder, subject to personal terms; Fernandes set to undergo medical on Thursday

Manchester United have agreed a deal worth up to £68m with Sporting CP to sign midfielder Bruno Fernandes, with the player increasingly likely to fly into the UK on Wednesday evening to complete the move.

Plans are still being finalised, but it’s expected Fernandes will get his Manchester United medical underway on Thursday morning.

United increased their offer to sign Fernandes twice in the past 24 hours, the second for a deal worth up to 80m euros (£67.76m), which Sporting accepted.

After weeks of negotiations, United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has reached an agreement with Sporting director Hugo Viana which should see United pay an initial fee of 55m euros (£46.56m) plus add-ons.

Sporting would receive a further 10m euros (£8.46m) from United if Fernandes reaches what are considered easily achievable targets and an additional 15m euros (£12.7m) if more difficult targets are met. It is understood these clauses include Fernandes winning the Ballon d’Or.

Officials in Lisbon are waiting for all relevant documentation to arrive, be checked and then signed off to trigger the agreement for Fernandes to move to Old Trafford.

The only remaining obstacle to the contractual side of Tuesday’s developments is legal verification as once the relevant documents are signed, the deal between Sporting and United can be formalised.

Fernandes’ medical in Manchester could happen on Wednesday with the midfielder set to fly to the north west, but this process may drag into Thursday, depending on how quickly the paperwork can be signed off.

Following reports in Spain, Sky Sports News confirmed that Barcelona are in talks with Sporting and have proposed signing him this summer until 2025 but loaning him to Valencia first until the end of the 2020-21 season.

Barcelona offered a slightly larger fee for Fernandes, however, a significant part of that figure would not be paid until the summer.

It appears – for the first time since the January transfer window opened – that United and Sporting are in agreement on the value of the player.

On Wednesday morning, the Portuguese Stock Exchange suspended trading in Sporting Lisbon shares while “awaiting the disclosure of relevant information”.

The suspension is likely to be related to the sale of Bruno Fernandes to Manchester United, as the sale is a huge deal for the club’s future financial health – but at this stage, it’s not thought that the move will be adversely affected by this development.

As a listed company, Sporting have to release details of their sales to the Lisbon stock exchange, and yesterday’s speculation of a deal being close – and interest from Barcelona – saw Sporting’s share price rise, with the suspension likely to remain in place until the club provides full details of the player’s transfer fee.

Source: skysports