Manchester United 'could sign Bruno Fernandes in £55m deal as they reach breakthrough in talks with Sporting Lisbon' with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer desperate to add goals to his squad following injury to Marcus Rashford
* Talks between United and Sporting Lisbon for Bruno Fernandes have progressed
* United are hopeful they can get a deal done for the midfielder for around £55m
* Sporting were initially unhappy with the structure of United's initial offer
* United need another attacking threat because of Marcus Rashford's injury woes
Manchester United are hopeful they can get a deal worth £55million completed for Bruno Fernandes by the end of the week.
Talks between United and Sporting Lisbon hit an impasse over the weekend after the Portuguese giants were unhappy with the structuring of the deal.
The two clubs have been at loggerheads over the fee, with Sporting demanding a minimum of £55.3million and as much as £68m, while United want to spend no more than £42m for the Portugal international.
Manchester United are hopeful they can get a deal worth £55m done for Bruno Fernandes. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is looking for more attacking options following Marcus Rashford's injury
Too much of United's initial offer was based on add-ons that Sporting deemed unlikely to occur and therefore there was very little progression in negotiations over the 25-year-old midfielder.
However, according to The Mirror, there has been progress in talks and United are now ready to make a second bid of just below £47m, which could rise to £55m with add-ons.
It is claimed Sporting were willing to wait for £60m but reports suggest the two teams have come to a compromise.
Marcus Rashford's injury has also changed United's stance with Fernandes' ability to score goals from midfield important as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looks for more attacking options.
Earlier on Tuesday Sporting Lisbon's assistant coach Emanuel Ferro claimed Fernandes will still be playing for them next month.
'There is a lot of talk about him leaving,' he told Portuguese newspaper A Bola.
'I believe that outside people feel this more than us. We don't feel it. We don't feel Bruno's thinking about leaving. He is competitive and involved.'
Fernandes played the entirety of Sporting's 2-0 defeat by Benfica on Friday and trained with his team-mates on Monday.
It is anticipated that he will feature in the Taca da Liga clash against Braga on Tuesday too.
The Portugal international has scored 15 goals and provided 13 assists in 27 appearances for Sporting this season across all competitions.
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