Al Qadsiah Overview

Manchester United have suffered a fresh blow concerning the future of their Portuguese captain Bruno Fernandes, after the midfielder rejected a second offer to renew his contract with the club. It is a development that threatens the continued presence of one of the team's most prominent stars at Old Trafford, and opens the door to the possibility of his departure for free at the end of the season, should the board fail to reach a new agreement with him.

The sacking of Michael Carrick from the Manchester United dugout did not come as a complete surprise within the club's corridors, even if it appeared to the fans a swift and harsh decision, especially as the man who had returned the team to the Champions League just a few months earlier had begun his new season amid a storm of negative results. But what was not visible to everyone was that the management was already moving to arrange the post-Carrick phase, and that Mauricio Pochettino had become the closest name to taking on the task, in negotiations that were not merely passing contacts but had reached the point of discussing the release clause in his contract with the United States national team.

Players brawling aboard the plane returning from Madrid, a decline in training standards, poor performance on the flank, and sources from the dressing room who believe the board "left him to face his fate alone".

Real Madrid striker Endrick could be set for a January departure as Sporting CP plot an ambitious winter move. Newly appointed manager Paulo Fonseca has reportedly urged the Portuguese club to secure a reunion with the Brazilian forward ahead of the second half of the season.