Sporting Lisbon's assistant coach Emanuel Ferro has insisted that everyone at the club still believes Bruno Fernandes will remain with them until at least the end of the season.
There has been a huge amount of speculation over the 25-year-old central midfielder's future all month, with Manchester United appearing his most likely destination.
However, a move has been held up by negotiations over the deal, with Sporting believed to want a minimum £55.3m while United don't want to spend more than £42.5m up front.
And Ferro has appeared to pour further cold water on the rumours by claiming nobody at the Portuguese club is thinking about Fernandes' departure.
There is a lot of talk about him leaving,” he is quoted by A Bola .
“I believe that outside people feel this more than us. We don’t feel it. We don’t feel Bruno’s thinking about leaving. He is competitive and involved.”
Fernandes himself is thought to be keen on a move to England, and reportedly told Sporting he was 'desperate' to join United.
With the move for Fernandes appearing complicated to complete, some have suggested that United should look elsewhere, including Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson, who thinks they should target Aston Villa star Jack Grealish instead.
"Forget Bruno Fernandes – Manchester United should be trying to sign Jack Grealish," Merson said in his Daily Star column.
"He is one of the top ten players in the Premier League right now. He is absolutely different class and would walk into almost any other Premier League team.
"Bruno Fernandes is a full international. He’s had clubs all over Europe looking at him. But he’s never played in this league before. Grealish has. And he’s ripping it up every week."
Meanwhile it has also been reported that United's bitter rivals Manchester City have joined the race for Fernandes , will City said to be prepared to outbid United for his services.
