Bruno Fernandes ‘happy’ at Manchester United as Erik ten Hag responds to transfer speculation

Erik ten Hag has insisted that Bruno Fernandes will “definitely” be at Manchester United for at least another two years and is confident his captain is happy to stay at Old Trafford.

Fernandes had said in an interview in his native Portugal that he would consider his future after Euro 2024 while United’s financial issues mean they would listen to offers for most of their squad.

But Ten Hag is keen to keep the 29-year-old, who is United’s 15-goal top scorer this season, as he said the midfielder’s comments were misinterpreted.

“I know he is very happy to be here,” he stated, adding that “absolutely” he wanted Fernandes to stay. He has a contract until 2026, with the club possessing an option to extend it for a further season.

While Fernandes is a doubt for Monday’s match at Crystal Palace, he has been almost ever-present since his arrival in 2020, making 230 appearances in just over four years.

And Ten Hag said his high workload, willingness to assume responsibility and to play through the pain barrier all make him invaluable.

He added: “Taking responsibility is one of the biggest assets top footballers have to show and deliver. Bruno is always available, he never misses a game and always plays in a good level and always gets energy to a team. Such assets are necessary to be successful.

“Bruno is a real fighter. Last year for instance when we played Brighton in the FA Cup semi-final, we played with an ankle that was so thick, it was unbelievable. Bruno is a very good example for other players.”

Ten Hag has been talking to new technical director Jason Wilcox on a daily basis and, after United’s season has been affected by more than 60 injuries, will tell the hierarchy they need more options for next season.

“That is one of the issues in our constructing the squad. We have to improve to do things better to construct a squad with more depth,” he explained.

But he believes this season’s injury crisis is a one-off, saying: “For over 10 years I am managing. I never had this experience, so huge with so many injury issues. So it can happen once in 10 years. Hopefully now can wait another 10 to have so many [again].”

Ten Hag also revealed United are in close contact with Jadon Sancho during his loan spell at Borussia Dortmund but that the issue of his future has been postponed until the end of the season.

“We are close in that process,” he said. “We are visiting games not only [against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday]. Not all the games but we have seen more games from Dortmund where Jadon was performing. We had a visit with him, we talk with him and we will keep going with this process.”

Ten Hag and Sancho fell out, with the winger training with the youth team at Old Trafford after refusing to apologise for a tweet criticising the manager, and the Dutchman added: “There was a conflict and let’s first finish the season so stay away from this issue now it is not important.”