Midfielder reveals he could have been used in Manchester United swap-deal for Bruno Fernandes

It is over four years since Manchester United completed the signing of Bruno Fernandes from Sporting Lisbon.

The 29-year-old was incessantly linked with a move to the Premier League before United parted with £47 million to bring him to the club in the January transfer window.

Fernandes has been a huge success since he joined the club, scoring 77 goals and notching 63 assists in just 228 appearances, with a number of notable performances that have seen him named in the PFA Team of the Year once and named Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year on two occasions.

United have certainly had value for money with the deal, but they could have potentially signed him for even cheaper had they allowed a player to move to Sporting as part of a swap-deal.

Andreas Pereira was linked with a move to the Portuguese club as part of the deal to sign Fernandes in 2020 and now he has confirmed that he was made aware of the possibility to be included.

“It was at the time when I was included in the negotiation with Bruno Fernandes and there were negotiations with Sporting, but nothing came of it,” Andreas Pereira told DAZN. Fulham star Joao Palhinha, who was in the same interview, joked that he made a mistake by not joining his former side: “he doesn’t know what he missed.”

Pereira did finally leave United in 2022 when he signed for Fulham in a deal understood to be in the region of £10 million.