Ben Jacobs Drops Fresh Update on Bruno Fernandes New Man Utd Contract

· GiveMeSport

Ben Jacobs has shared a fresh update on Bruno Fernandes signing a new Man Utd contract on the GIVEMESPORT Market Madness podcast.

Manchester United and Bruno Fernandes are at an impasse in talks over a new contract, GIVEMESPORT senior correspondent Ben Jacobs has revealed in the latest episode of the Market Madness podcast.

The Portuguese playmaker has been a key player at Old Trafford ever since arriving from Sporting in January 2020, and has gone on to make 335 appearances for the Red Devils, scoring 111 goals and registering 109 assists, while also winning the EFL Cup and FA Cup during his time with the club.

Fernandes signed a new contract with Man Utd in 2024, tying him to the club until the summer of 2027, with the option of an extra 12 months. As things stand, the deal is due to expire at the end of the current campaign, which has led to speculation about his future.

The 32-year-old turned down the advances of Saudi Arabia in the summer of 2025, while his release clause wasn't activated this past summer despite strong interest from clubs across Europe.

United are keen to tie their captain down to a new contract to extend his time in Manchester, and talks have been ongoing for several months to try and find an agreement.

But speaking on the latest episode of GIVEMESPORT's Market Madness podcast, Jacobs shared a big update on the talks and revealed that things are not necessarily progressing as had been expected.

> "Although we're not necessarily talking about Bruno just leaving on a free. There's three options here. One is his contract expires. Two is Manchester United trigger the extra year that they have on his deal, and three is Bruno signs a new deal. And at the moment, it's an impasse in terms of talks over a new deal, but that's not to suggest doom and gloom. They've just not found a way yet to put a new contract on the table."

> "It's a little bit complicated in some ways, because he's now starting to approach that same scenario, like your Virgil van Dijks and your Mo Salahs, where Manchester United understand the importance of Bruno Fernandes to the project, but they'll have to be, because of his age, succession planning and however many years for replacing him.

> "Whether internally they've got plenty of number 10s at the moment, such as Mason Mount and also Mateus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, but they're versatile players that can also play in other positions. And this is the kind of challenge sometimes that what you want is to extend Bruno if you're Manchester United, have him have impact for two, three, four, more years, but also succession plan and maybe even try and have a bit of an overlap where you can say the player you're bringing in is arriving at the time when the player that you don't want to lose is still there, and that again is how Liverpool have tried to approach their recruitment for many, many years.

> "Unfortunately, in the case of Salah, they weren't really able to bring in a right-sided player to directly replace Salah, and he did leave. But generally, that's the Liverpool way.

> "So that would be Manchester United's intent. So don't panic, Manchester United fans, if you hear about a younger Bruno replacement. It's not indicative of the fact that that means Bruno is going. It's just Manchester United trying to do two things: keep Bruno and find a younger kind of profile for the future.

> "If they feel that there's room for another player in that position, it may be that somebody that's already there just assumes that role rather than Cunha and Mbeumo being able to play in wide areas or lead the line as well.

> "But Manchester United is still working on a new deal for Bruno Fernandes. There's just been no breakthrough yet, and if they don't get one, they've still got the possibility of extending his deal by another 12 months, and then Saudi are still there in case Bruno Fernandes changes his mind and decides in summer 2027 that he would now like that opportunity.

> "But there's no suggestion yet that he's lost faith in this Manchester United project, or he wants out, even though they're not yet at a point where we can say new deal talks are advanced."

Man Utd have had a poor season so far in this campaign, winning just twice in all competitions so far. Fernandes' form also hasn't been the greatest, with the Portugal international scoring just once and failing to register an assist in his last six appearances.

Carrick revealed during his press conference ahead of the Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid that Fernandes has been dealing with an injury, but backed him to rediscover his form eventually.

> "It's pretty obvious to say that he can [recapture his form]. I mean, he's a top player, Bruno.

> "Sometimes, things don't quite go for you, you know, and sometimes you have a spell of that.

> "He's done some incredible things for this football club and he will do the same in the future, there's no doubt about it."

> "He was playing and he was carrying something [an injury]. But I think that happens a lot, people don't maybe realise it, but it happens a lot.

> "Players play with issues, I've played myself and have probably played 80 per cent of the games with some sort of issues, as you go through your career. It's not ideal but it's kind of manageable.

> "Some players are able to play with a bit more or a bit less than others, and Bruno was able to play the games. And he has the commitment that he's got, to do that. So, yeah, he's pretty much over it. It's still there slightly but, as I said, I could go through the whole squad pointing out these little bits here and there.

> "So, right now, it's not a major deal. He's in good shape and he was really bright this morning and looking forward to the game."

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