“We value him so much even more than Bruno Fernandes”: Man United’s owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe names the only Man United’s player who’s more valuable than Bruno Fernandes
Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe recently spoke about the importance of Bruno Fernandes, suggesting that the Red Devils ‘definitely need’ to keep hold of the Portuguese international.
Fernandes is understandably considered untouchable at Old Trafford, but it could be more important for them to convince one other player to stick around – Amad Diallo.
United have been going through a difficult spell over the last few years, but for supporters, it’s scary to think where they could be without Fernandes. The United skipper has dragged them over the line on multiple occasions in games, putting up ridiculous numbers considering the team’s struggles.
Amad has established himself as another important player, predominantly this season, with Ruben Amorim giving him more of an opportunity to express himself. The former Sunderland loanee struggled for game time under Erik ten Hag, but he was one of United’s best players before his injury.
Amad Diallo More Untouchable Than Fernandes
Fernandes will be 31 this year
Calling another United player more ‘untouchable’ than Fernandes may seem slightly farfetched at face value, but there are many factors that come into the thinking it’s more important to keep Amad at the club. Ratcliffe recently heaped praise on Fernandes when discussing the prospect of United going through a period of transformation, hinting that they could move on from certain players…
“We’ve got this period of transformation where we move from the past to the future. There are some great players in the squad as we know, the captain is a fabulous footballer. We definitely need Bruno (Fernandes), he’s a fantastic footballer.”
Ratcliffe is certainly fair in his assessment of Fernandes, but the Portuguese international is going to be 31 later this year. With Amad, you have a player who is already contributing at the highest level and yet is far from reaching his full potential. A big problem for United over the years has been signing players for high fees and making very little back when it comes to selling them.
Nobody is suggesting selling Fernandes, but he’s going to reach the stage in a few years, when he starts to decline as a footballer. In two, three, four years’ time, we could see Amad, described as ‘special’ by Phil Bardsley, becoming one of the best players in world football.
There’s an argument to suggest that Amad is more untouchable than Fernandes considering the difference in age and potential. Fernandes has been a fantastic servant and will likely continue to do so, but losing a player of Amad’s potential would be a complete disaster. If United cashed in on Fernandes, they’re unlikely to see him go to the next level as a player, whereas there’s a strong chance they live to regret offloading Amad.
In this current United setup, both players are untouchable, but Amad’s importance can’t be understated with Fernandes taking most of the plaudits.
