Man Utd are interested in signing Atletico Madrid’s Pablo Barrios and Barcelona’s Fermin Lopez, according to Marca reporter Matteo Moretto.

Speaking on Marca‘s La Pizarra de Quintana show, Moretto claimed that the Red Devils have made contact about signing the two midfielders:

“There’s a Premier League club, Manchester United, that has a lot of things to sort out and is looking for a midfielder with the characteristics of Barrios and Fermin.”

“They’ve inquired about both of them; there’s no negotiation, just an enquiry.”

Man Utd could be seeking a replacement for Fernandes

Barrios has usually been deployed as a holding midfielder or No. 8, but Atletico boss Diego Simeone has begun using him in more advanced roles in recent weeks. United fans won’t need to be reminded that he scored against them in the 2-0 defeat last month.

Fermin is more of an out-and-out No. 10. He has scored 5 goals and provided 4 assists in 12 appearances for Barca this season, and it’s doubtful that he would leave the Camp Nou, although he was the subject of an approach from Chelsea last summer.

The fact that United are interested in both players, though, would suggest they are seeking to replace Bruno Fernandes in the not-too-distant future.

Fernandes’s contract situation

United may well be planning for life without their captain. Looking beyond his recent public outbursts, it has to be pointed out that the 32-year-old could leave at the end of this season when his current deal expires.

It seems unlikely that United would allow that to happen, considering they have an option to extend his stay for another year, but they had the same clause in Casemiro’s contract and didn’t exercise it.

Even a few months ago, it would have been unthinkable to sanction Fernandes’s departure on a free transfer, having recently won the PFA Player of the Year, but we shall have to wait and see how things unfold over the coming weeks and months.