Why Bruno Fernandes would be an excellent addition for Barcelona
According to Manchester Evening News, Barcelona want to sign Bruno Fernandes at the end of this season. Reports from Sport also suggest that the Manchester United man could leave the club if sporting objectives are not met.
Profile
The 26-year-old Portuguese midfielder started his youth career at FC Infesta in 2002 and moved to Boavista after two seasons. He spent most of his youth career there until 2012 when he signed his first senior contract at Novara.
Spells at Novara, Udinese and Sampdoria followed from 2012 to 2017. While he did not have the best of times in Italy, it all changed with his move to Sporting CP in 2017. In 137 appearances for the Portuguese giants, he scored a scarcely believable 63 goals and registered 52 assists (h/t Transfermarkt).
Manchester United signed him in January last season as he single-handedly pulled the club to a third-place finish in the league, thereby securing Champions League football. While he may have played just 34 games for them, he already has 32 goal contributions.
Fernandes was a regular for the Portugal youth sides before starting for the senior team. He has 23 appearances and 2 goals to his name so far.
Fernandes would rejuvenate Barcelona’s midfield
Barcelona are in a transition of sorts as the club recovers from last season’s humiliations. They have also made changes to the playing team and manager. They have done away with the likes of Luis Suarez, Ivan Rakitic and Arturo Vidal and brought in fresh faces such as Sergino Dest and academy ace Pedri.
However, they do need some more players especially in the midfield region. They also need some more goals as they need to find Suarez’s goals from someone. Bruno Fernandes can be the solution to both these problems.
The mercurial Portuguese has been an instant hit at Manchester United and his numbers speak for themselves. He is one of Europe’s top goal-scoring midfielders and brings a genuine level of creativity to the team. There are no safe passes with him as he will always try for a forward pass.
Read More:
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Verdict
Barcelona can use Fernandes’ qualities wholeheartedly. They have lacked that spark in their team and even sometimes with Lionel Messi in the team, they look devoid of creativity. Adding Fernandes to their midfield ranks would make them a more potent side going forward and the onus will always not be on Messi to carry the team.
