Having already made one very successful transfer from the Portuguese Primeira Liga, it is being reported that Manchester United are targeting that source for talent again. It is rumoured that they are interested in signing Alex Telles, the 27-year-old Brazilian defender who is currently on the books of FC Porto.
Chelsea are also said to be interested in acquiring Telles’s services as a replacement for Marcus Alonso and Emerson. Although he is a fullback, the 27-year-old loves to get forward and has scored 13 goals and made 12 assists in his 49 appearances for Porto in the 2019/2020 season. It is believed that if Porto does agree to let the player go, they will be asking in the region of £27 million for him.
The Portuguese publication, Correio da Manha, believes that United are favourites to sign Telles ahead of Frank Lampard’s Chelsea. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sees the Portuguese defender as a safety net for injury-prone Luke Shaw and Brandon Williams.
There is little doubt that the 27-year-old would give Solskjaer more options at the back. With Telles’s current scoring record and his ability to make regular assists, he could prove a valuable asset, just like Bruno Fernandez.
The last January transfer window saw the arrival of two players – Nathan Bishop from Southend, for an undisclosed fee, and of course, Bruno Fernandes from Sporting Lisbon for a fee of £47 million.
While Bishop is at the moment doing little more than swelling the ranks of reserve goalkeepers at Old Trafford, it is Fernandez that everyone is raving about. He is being credited with transforming the Red Devils since his arrival and is undoubtedly the catalyst behind their third-place finish in the Premiership.
The success of dipping into the Portuguese league to buy Fernandes could prompt United to repeat the trick, this time to acquire an attacking full-back. Man United have a history of snapping up stars from the Portuguese football scene. Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani are ample proof of that.
The Red Devils certainly seem to have done it again with January transfer window signing Bruno Fernandes. Since his debut appearance shortly after his arrival, United have not lost a single game. Their third-place finish and Champions League qualification seems almost a miracle considering that at the beginning of the campaign, they made the poorest start to a league season for 33-years.
But the addition of Fernandes to the first team changed United’s performances from one of lack-lustre to one of sparkling excitement. Fernandes is the driving force and you would have to admit that if there is such a thing as a classic Manchester United player, one ticks all the boxes.
His eight goals and seven assists in 14 appearances are but a part of the story. He is a natural-born leader. He assumed the role of penalty taker and has scored six times from the spot, one of which proved to be the pivotal goal that sealed Leicester’s fate and crowned United’s.
If Alex Telles does come to old Trafford and turns out even half as good a deal as Fernandes, the Red Devils will be a force to reckon with once again.
