Manchester United may face a further delay in their bid to sign Bruno Fernandes after Sporting’s manager Silas revealed that the midfielder could play in their Taca de Liga match against Braga on Tuesday evening.
Sporting initially held up United as they wanted Fernandes to play in their derby clash against Benfica on Friday evening.
And the midfielder did play the full 90 minutes as Sporting were beaten 2-0 by their Lisbon rivals.
According to reports, United have fallen short of Sporting’s €65m (£55.3m) asking price as their offer currently stands at €50 million (£42.6m) up front with another €30m (£25.5m) in bonuses which would be paid if they won the Premier League, the Champions League or if Fernandes finished in the top three of the Ballon d’Or.
Sporting consider United’s bonus payment structure unrealistic given how far away Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side are from winning the Premier League and the Champions League.
Fernandes, meanwhile, is said to have been angered when Sporting informed him that they would not be accepting United’s offer as it currently stands.
And speaking after Sporting’s defeat to Benfica, their manager Silas made it clear that he is still preparing for his side’s upcoming fixture against Braga with Fernandes still in his plans.
Asked if Fernandes will play against Braga in Tuesday, Silas replied: ‘I don’t know. For now I think so.
‘I will prepare the game with Bruno in mind, now from here on out I don’t know what could happen. It’s a player that wants to play in a league superior to ours.
‘What player wouldn’t want to play in the English league? It’s hard to tell him “don’t go”.
‘Bruno deserves to play in those kind of league and the best is that one. If he is one of the best he has to be there.’
Asked how Sporting will cope if Fernandes leaves, Silas said: ‘In that situation we have to look for other tactics.
‘There’s a lot of teams in Portugal that don’t have Bruno, don’t they? They look for other tactics.
‘We will be missing out on some things and gaining on another.’
