United open contract talks with Fernandes as Galatasaray table £43m bid for captain

Manchester United have opened contract talks with captain Bruno Fernandes after Galatasaray lodged a £43 million bid for the Portugal midfielder, according to reports on Monday.

The Turkish club are said to be offering Fernandes terms that would roughly double his current £300,000-a-week salary — a package that has prompted United to accelerate discussions over a new deal. Sky Sports News reported that United’s position is unambiguous: the 31-year-old is not available at any price.

Fernandes enters the new season in the final 12 months of his existing contract, which contains a club option to extend by a further year. The move to open fresh negotiations signals how central manager Michael Carrick views the playmaker to United’s ambitions, particularly with the club returning to the Champions League this season.

The interest from Turkey follows years of reported attention from Saudi Arabia, and arrives on the back of one of Fernandes’ finest individual campaigns. Last season he set a new Premier League record for assists in a single season, contributing 21 — surpassing the previous mark and earning him the division’s Player of the Year award.

Carrick’s side open their Premier League campaign against Hull City on Saturday, with the window for further transfer business narrowing ahead of the start of September. United’s pre-season included a defeat to Ruben Amorim’s AC Milan in the final tour fixture, though the squad was broadly considered to have performed well across the summer programme.

Fernandes turns 32 in September but has shown little sign of the drop-off that might justify entertaining offers from abroad. Securing his future on improved terms would represent one of the most significant pieces of business United complete this summer, removing a potential distraction at the heart of the squad before the competitive season gets under way.