David Beckham has urged Manchester United not to sell Bruno Fernandes this summer and says he would hate to see academy talents sold just for financial reasons.
It is set to be a busy summer in the transfer market for the Red Devils as they look to bring in a number of signings and get rid of plenty of players too.
In order to comply with Profit and Sustainability Rules, Manchester United will need to make significant sales if they want to spend big on new arrivals.
They will hope this can be done by selling players they no longer want, but there have been rumours of the likes of Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho being sold for maximum profit.
Fernandes would attract a huge transfer fee from interest in Saudi Arabia, while Mainoo and Garnacho would represent pure profit in PSR rules as academy products.
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Beckham wants none of the three sold, Fernandes because he is the standout player in the team, while Garnacho and Mainoo would only be sold for financial reasons and not because they are not bringing enough to the squad.
However, the Manchester United and England icon recognises that outgoings need to be made somewhere otherwise signings will be extremely limited.
‘I think Ruben [Amorim] definitely needs to be backed in bringing in the players he wants but I actually don’t know how possible it is,’ Beckham told The Athletic. ‘I don’t speak to Jim that often, only from time to time.
‘Ruben needs to be backed as a manager to bring in his team and his philosophy; he’s trying that already but I think once he brings his team in and his players, then you’ll see something different.
‘I’d like to think you wouldn’t have to sell your captain (Fernandes). He has been exceptional. We’ve all been critical at times of some United players — but when we needed someone to step up, he has done it.’
The 50-year-old added: ‘I also hate any young player who has grown up at United leaving the club. We shouldn’t be selling players purely for financial reasons.
‘It should be what they are doing on the field and if they’re not performing, there’s always a chance — we all knew that, I knew that. If I wasn’t performing on the pitch, it didn’t matter what I’d done in the past or what I was going to do in the future; there was a good chance that I was either going to get left on the bench, or I was going to get sold.
‘I’d like to think that Manchester United don’t sell players that have grown up at the club, understand and love the club. I don’t want to see players leave Manchester United if they care about United like I do.’
Garnacho has been linked with the likes of Chelsea and Napoli, but said earlier this month that he is happy at Old Trafford where he has a contract until 2028, despite the transfer talk.
‘As a footballer, you are always going to listen and hear some rumours about the future,’ he said. ‘But I have a contract here until 2028, so I’m happy here.’
The Argentina international is one of the players who has struggled for form under Amorim, only showing flashes of his best in the 3-4-3 formation the Portuguese employs.
‘I think it’s difficult for everyone when, in the middle of the season, a new manager comes in and we change the formation,’ Garnacho said. ‘But we just need to follow the rules and I try to improve every day.
‘Obviously, the manager knows the characteristics of the players. You see the games, too many times I play, for example, wide on the wing and the wing back is coming inside.
‘What we try to do depends on the players we have and we are improving as a team also.
‘It’s a little bit hard but it’s just the mentality. My first two months, November and December were very difficult for me, but my mentality is to keep working, to keep trying and show to the manager and staff I have to play.’