Bruno Fernandes turns down Manchester United's contract offer twice

Two straight "no's" and still, nobody at Old Trafford seems rattled. That's the situation with Bruno Fernandes, who has already turned down an improved contract offer from Manchester United on two separate occasions, according to sources consulted by ESPN. And yet the club is staying calm, confident the deal will come together sooner or later.

The Portuguese captain, 32, has a contract running through the end of the season, and that's the fine print explaining why the situation is starting to be watched with one eye on the calendar. Starting January 1, Fernandes would be free to negotiate with clubs outside the Premier League. That's the date everyone is watching, though United has a card up its sleeve: a one-year option that would extend his deal through June 2028, giving the front office extra room to work out a new contract without the clock bearing down on them.

It's worth remembering where Fernandes is coming from. Last season he won the PFA Player of the Year award after breaking the Premier League's single-season assists record. He is not just another player the club is willing to let walk without a fight.

But the present is trickier than that recent past. Since August, his form has dipped, and following the rough 4-1 loss to Como in the Champions League last month, the Portuguese midfielder appeared to publicly question Michael Carrick's tactical decisions. The response came quickly: he was left on the bench for the next match, against Bournemouth. He then returned to the starting lineup against Chelsea, Roma and Aston Villa.

The managerial change that shakes things up

That match against Aston Villa, which ended 4-4 at Old Trafford just before the international break, turned out to be Carrick's last game in charge of United. The 45-year-old manager was dismissed on Thursday, and Mauricio Pochettino was brought in to replace him, signing a two-and-a-half-year contract at Old Trafford.

The Argentine, who has previously managed Tottenham, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain, will make his debut on United's bench on November 22, fittingly at Anfield against Liverpool. It's a demanding first test that comes, almost inevitably, alongside the other major issue hanging over the locker room: convincing his captain that his future still lies in Manchester.