Manchester United are threatening to abandon their pursuit of Bruno Fernandes because they fear the move will damage Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s summer transfer plans.
United have made it clear they will walk away unless Sporting Lisbon significantly reduce their asking price for the midfielder.
The Old Trafford club are adamant they will not meet the Portuguese club’s valuation of £55million plus £13m in add-ons for the 25-year-old.
Instead they are prepared to pay closer to the £38m Tottenham bid last summer, with performance-related add-ons.
While Solskjaer is still desperate to land Fernandes this month, the fear within the club is that the deal could set a dangerous precedent ahead of a critical summer.
Solskjaer has made James Maddison and Jadon Sancho leading targets at the end of the season, but could see their prices significantly inflate as a result of over-paying for Fernandes.
While talks have not completely broken down, the deal is in serious jeopardy, despite claims personal terms had been agreed with the player.
