Bruno Fernandes is close to sealing a move from Sporting Lisbon to Manchester United, with a £68m fee now having been agreed between the clubs.
United increased their offer to Sporting for Fernandes twice in the past 24 hours, the second for a deal which could be worth 80m euros (£67.76m).
After weeks of negotiations, United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has reached an agreement with Sporting’s director Hugo Viana which could see United pay an initial fee of 55m euros (£46.56m) plus add-ons for Fernandes, with the deal eventually rising to 80m euros (£67.76m).
Sporting would receive a further 10m euros (£8.46m) from United if Fernandes reaches what are considered easily achievable targets and an additional 15m euros (£12.7m) if more difficult targets are met. It is understood these clauses include Fernandes winning the Ballon d’Or.
Officials in Lisbon are waiting for all relevant documentation to arrive, be checked and then signed off to trigger the agreement for Fernandes to move to Old Trafford.
The only remaining obstacle to the contractual side of Tuesday’s developments is legal verification.
Once the relevant documents are signed, the deal can be formalised between Sporting and United.
Fernandes’ medical in Manchester could happen on Wednesday with the midfielder set to fly to the north west, but this process may drag into Thursday, depending on how quickly the paperwork can be signed off.
Barcelona have offered a slightly larger fee for Fernandes, however, a significant part of that figure would not be paid until the summer. – Sky Sports.
