Bruno Fernandes drops hint he wanted Man Utd to sign £80m Chelsea transfer target

Bruno Fernandes has dropped a hint that he wanted Manchester United to sign Alex Scott this summer, picking out the midfielder as his player to watch in the Premier League this season.

Scott joined Bournemouth from Bristol City back in 2023 and has gone on to establish himself as one of the most sought-after central midfielders in English football over the last three years.

The 23-year-old received his first senior England call-up last November and was perhaps unfortunate to miss out on a place in Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup squad.

Throughout the summer transfer window, Scott’s future was the subject of intense speculation in the media, with the Premier League’s elite closely monitoring his progress for some time.

Manchester United and Arsenal have both been credited with a strong interest in Scott, while Chelsea reportedly considered the £80million-rated Bournemouth man as a potential replacement for Enzo Fernandez.

But the transfer deadline came and went and Scott stayed put on the south coast. He will now be looking to put the incessant rumours to one side in order to see out another successful campaign with the Cherries.

After collecting his PFA Players’ Player of the Year award last week, Manchester United captain Fernandes sat down with Adebayo Akinfenwa for the Beast Mode On YouTube channel to discuss a range of topics.

When asked to name a player he feels could be in the next PFA Team of the Year, the Portuguese replied: ‘There’s always a lot [of exciting players]

‘There is one player that I really like and that is Alex Scott from Bournemouth.

‘Obviously you always know that the big teams get looked at a little bit more than other teams but I think what he did last season was great.

‘I think he’s someone that could easily be up for that [the PFA Team of the Year].’

Scott opened his account for the season in Bournemouth’s 1-1 draw with Everton last weekend, beating Jordan Pickford with a deflected strike from the edge of the box at the Vitality Stadium.

The midfielder will be looking to pick up where he left off when Marco Rose’s men return to action away to Newcastle in Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off.

Switching his focus to his own achievements, Fernandes opened up on just how proud he was to win an award voted for by his peers.

‘I always think that you’re going to get some people that recognise certain things and others that don’t,’ he said.

‘For me, it doesn’t change much what could be or what I could see, but I get the appreciation of people.

‘We’re talking about a trophy that the players, the ones that stand out every week against me, have voted for so that makes me very proud.

‘That’s the main thing that I take from last season.’

Though he is widely considered to be United’s greatest signing of the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, Fernandes has had to deal with constant scrutiny across his six-and-a-half-year spell at Old Trafford.

‘I’ve always said to myself to believe in yourself because throughout your career, you’re going to have moments where people will doubt how good you are or how good you can be,’ he added.

‘That will always be there from the beginning to the end, it’s not going to change.

‘It doesn’t matter how much you show it, it doesn’t matter how many awards you get, people are always going to doubt you.

‘At a high level, week by week and sometimes daily, you’re going to get some credit and other days you’re going to get some bad words.

‘You just have to deal with that and believe in yourself because if you get to a certain place it’s because you’ve done something right.’

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