Earlier this month, Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes solidified his commitment to the club by signing a new contract, but not before making his expectations clear to the club’s leadership.
Fernandes, who had been linked with a move away from Old Trafford during the summer, stressed to United’s top management, including Sir Jim Ratcliffe, that the team needs to strengthen in order to compete with the best. In an interview with Manutd.com, he revealed, “The club knew that I want to compete with the best teams. They knew that we needed to improve the team. And I think that we’re doing that.”
He emphasized that he wasn’t looking for promises of immediate success but wanted assurance that the team would be competitive. “I said to them: ‘I don’t need you to promise me that we’re going to win the league,’ because no one can promise that. But at least that we will have a team to compete and be competitive throughout the season, to try to achieve silverware and to compete at the highest levels,” Fernandes added.
United’s approach in the transfer market, often criticized in the past, has been more strategic under the new ownership of Ineos. They secured early signings like Joshua Zirkzee and Leny Yoro, and completed deals for Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui from Bayern Munich just before their Premier League opener against Fulham.
The club remains active in the transfer market, targeting Paris Saint-Germain’s Manuel Ugarte to further bolster the midfield. United have also been busy offloading players who no longer fit into their plans, with Donny van de Beek, Mason Greenwood, and Willy Kambwala among those already sold, and more expected to follow before the transfer window closes.
