Man United fans have already identified their Bruno Fernandes replacement

Manchester United fans have already identified Bruno Fernandes' successor at Old Trafford.

Fernandes joined the Red Devils from Sporting Lisbon for a fee of £47 million back in January 2020 and has established himself as a fan favourite.

The Portugal international has gone on to score 45 goals and register 33 assists in 128 Premier League appearances, but some fans are already thinking ahead to who can replace him in the middle of the park.

Twitter account @thetacticalside asked fellow fans who could be his eventual successor, tweeting: "Bruno Fernandes is 29-years-old.

"How are we going to replace him? How are we going to fill his void? Who on earth is able to replicate his quality let alone his output?"

Plenty of fans were quick to acknowledge that Fernandes still has plenty more years in the tank, but there was a resounding answer among the comments, with the majority of replies mentioning Florian Wirtz's name.

"Florian Wirtz is the only answer", wrote fan.

"Wirtz can replace him," added another.

"We should be looking at Florian Wirtz by now," a third exclaimed.

"Has to be Wirtz but I can’t see him joining us," a fourth chimed in.

The 20-year-old attacking-midfielder, who plays his football with Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundelsiga, already has had one goal and two assists from three appearances this season.

He has taken on the role of Kai Havertz at the German club, who packed his bags for Chelsea back in 2020, and has since moved to London rivals Arsenal this summer.

Manchester United were originally linked with Wirtz back in 2021, but Bayer Leverkusen managed to keep him on their books where he has continued to develop.

Speaking back in December 2021, Bayer Leverkusen sporting director Rudi Voller explained that the club were eager to keep the Germany international, but admitted he could outgrow Bayer Leverkusen and follow in the footsteps of Kai Havertz in future.

"Not only because of the contractual situation – also because of the trust we have built in him and his family, we know that he will be in good hands here for a few more years”, Voller told German outlet Bild.

“At some point, maybe that day will come and this club will be too small for Florian, similar to Kai [Havertz].

“But that will still take a while. [My] wish is that Florian will stay with us for a few more years. That is important for us and for the whole of the Bundesliga and I think it’s his plan too.”

It remains to be seen whether he is on Erik ten Hag's radar, but fans certainly think the Dutchman should try and sign him, with Real Madrid and Liverpool also previously linked with the player.

Topics: Bruno Fernandes, Bayer Leverkusen, Manchester United, Premier League, Transfers, Erik Ten Hag, Football, Fan Reactions

Joe Adams

Joe is a Journalist for SPORTbible with a primary focus on football. He has previously covered a number of other sports including boxing, rugby and F1. Wishes he was born left-footed.

@joeadamsjourno