Gabby Agbonlahor has tipped Mauricio Pochettino to sign Nico Paz as Bruno Fernandes’ long-term replacement, amid the latter’s contract standoff.
Manchester United solved one problem with their managerial situation, and another one rises in the background. The club appointed Mauricio Pochettino after sacking Michael Carrick following a disastrous start to the season, and now they are eager to resolve the situation with skipper Bruno Fernandes.
Having signed from Sporting CP in January 2020 in a €55 million deal, the Portuguese playmaker has been the best performer at Old Trafford since then. Last season he produced a record breaking campaign, registering 21 assists in the process.
Fernandes has had an underwhelming start to the new season, with expectations around the midfielder high after his record-breaking season last time out. While there’s plenty of confidence that his form will improve, the contractual situation with the club captain is causing unwanted tensions.
The Portuguese star has reportedly rejected the latest contract offer presented by the club, sparking rumours of a potential exit in the near future. While Fernandes is in the final year of his existing deal and free to talk to clubs from abroad in January, Manchester United do hold the option to extend his stay by another twelve months, which they could exercise before the new year.
While the club are expected to make further efforts to get a resolution with the skipper, there’s the possibility he could depart in one of the next windows. Now, there have been suggestions in media reports on how to replace Fernandes should he depart, with Manchester United reportedly eyeing Nico Paz as a potential option.
Gabby Agbonlahor tipped Pochettino on Fernandes replacement
Speaking to TalkSPORT, pundit and former Aston Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor has tipped Pochettino to replace Fernandes with Nico Paz. The pundit insisted that the Argentine should make a smart decision to bring the Como star in place of the club captain, and refresh the position as well as the squad moving ahead.
Agbonlahor said: “Maybe Pochettino comes in and says, ‘You know what? I don’t like his attitude. I don’t like the way he throws his arms up at his teammates, the way he threw Michael Carrick under the bus. Can I go and get my own players?’
“Nico Paz – how good has he been? He’s the next star for Argentina.
“Does he say, ‘You know what? I want him next summer from Como, make it happen’. Save the money on wages that maybe Bruno Fernandes wants.
“So he might have his own ideas to get all these players out that maybe have been a little bit of a problem [like], ‘I want to refresh the whole squad.’”
Looking into the situation with Nico Paz, Como have no interest in considering a sale ahead of the January window. Even if they are compelled to consider offers for the playmaker, Real Madrid are planning to re-sign him by exercising the buy-back option they have in place with the Argentine star, which makes it extremely difficult for rival clubs to even think about chasing the 22-year-old Serie A creative genius.