It was supposed to be the summer for Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes to truly enhance his reputation on the world stage, but Portugal’s World Cup was once again overshadowed by the cult of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Alas, it’s now time for the 31-year-old to enjoy some well-deserved rest after nearly an action-packed 12 months. Michael Carrick needs to ensure his talisman is well-recovered and rekindled by the start of the new Premier League season in late August.
One of the priorities is to ensure the former Sporting CP star signs a new contract before the deadline expires. The midfielder’s current contract is due to expire in the summer of 2027, but United have the option of an extension.
As evidenced by last season’s record-breaking campaign, Fernandes remains at the heart of all the advantages of the Old Trafford side, and now it’s time for him to truly build a squad capable of winning the frustratingly elusive major honors.
Man United bid for Lodge contract for potential midfield player
Manchester United last qualified for the Champions League in 2023, and the club have since strengthened their squad with the signings of Andre Onana, Mason Mount and Rasmus Hjølund.
The Athletic suggested that Casemiro was among those who were “disappointed” with the signings of Harry Kane and others, as they failed to match the “ambition” promised to the Brazilian.
While high-profile targets such as Matheus Fernandes and Elliott Anderson have moved elsewhere, there has been a lack of concrete moves so far this summer, and there may be fears of a repeat of the same for Fernandes and others.
However, with Chelsea’s Andrej Santos originally signing for the Blues in January 2023 and now set to move to Old Trafford in a £50m deal, things could apparently change.
More big-name names could emerge following Santos’ arrival, with reports in Spain suggesting United have made an approach to Real Madrid’s Aurelien Choameni.
The suggestion is that INEOS are looking to lure the 26-year-old from the Bernabéu, offering the Frenchman a five-year contract in what they consider to be a “very good offer”.
This comes after club officials claimed that Choameni had flown to Spain to facilitate negotiations as he is part of the France squad currently competing in the World Cup.
According to FlashScore, the former Monaco player is open to joining the Red Devils this summer if Madrid inform him that he will not be joining them.
Why Choameni could be Manchester United’s best player since Bruno
There has been little success since Fernandez was captured in January 2020. Donny van de Beek, Alex Telles and Edinson Cavani all endured short-lived stays after signing later that year, while Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane and the aforementioned Ronaldo left on free transfers after joining in 2021 themselves.
Casemiro, who signed in 2022, was also on a free transfer after signing for £70m, while Anthony was also spent £86m in the summer before being sold to Real Betis for around a quarter of that amount.
As for the 2023 squad, Hojlund is currently at Napoli, Onana is back on loan at Trabzonspor and Mount has been hampered by injury, while in the 2024 squad Manuel Ugarte and Joshua Zirkzee seem destined to leave at some stage, while Nouser Mazraoui, Matthijs de Ligt and Lenny Yolo have all endured their own injury problems. Over the past two seasons.
In fact, the only additions that can be considered successful over the past five years are the 2025 signings, but it’s probably still too early to judge the likes of Matheus Cunha, Brian Mbeumo and Senne Lamence.
None of the recent signings have really raised any eyebrows, but adding Choameni to the team would be a statement of truth, especially considering his status as perhaps “the best defensive midfielder in the world” in the opinion of former teammate Cema Andres.
Choameni – vs European midfielder | |
|---|---|
status | rank |
non-penalty goal | bottom 37% |
shot | Top 17% |
A big opportunity has arisen | Top 35% |
third and final entry | Top 8% |
forward pass | Top 7% |
progressive path | Top 20% |
advance to the final third | Top 5% |
Def. Won a ground duel | Top 13% |
Def. won an aerial battle | Top 2% |
tackles and interceptions | Top 4% |
box clearance | Top 10% |
blocked shot | Top 10% |
United have long been crying out for a truly elite number six in his prime, and the Madrid player ticks all the boxes, especially having won the Champions League with Spain.
For example, in La Liga last season, he boasted an incredible passing accuracy of 92%, won 68% of his ground battles and 76% of his aerial battles, but was dribbled through just 0.5 times per game.
For comparison, while he grabbed the headlines in 2025/26 with nine goals, Casemiro was still not at his best defensively, making just 1.5 dribbles per Premier League appearance but winning just 53% of his ground battles and 51% of his aerial duels.
When it comes to passing accuracy, the Brazilian average was also significantly lower at 81%.
The South American’s departure leaves Mount and Ugarte as the only senior midfielders remaining at Old Trafford, alongside Fernandes and Coby Mainu, with Ugarte expected to be out for a long time.
Bringing in Choameni instead of the Englishman or Uruguayan would probably represent a clear upgrade for Casemiro as well, mirroring the emergence of Fernandes, who comfortably displaced Jesse Lingard and Andreas Pereira for the number 10 role.
In some cases, an elite player is added who can make an immediate impact just by introducing him, like Fernandes after his move to Sporting.
Given what he has shown so far for both countries and his country, Choameni could very well be the next player to pull on a United shirt.
