Bruno Fernandes clears up Tottenham transfer collapse before joining Man United

However, he could easily have ended up at Spurs before that move materialised. Tottenham had earmarked Fernandes as a potential acquisition in the summer of 2019 and came close to getting a deal over the line, with interest remaining in January 2020 when United ultimately secured his signature.

The fact that Eriksen remained at the club throughout the summer may well have prevented Spurs from making an all-out push for Fernandes. The Portugal international has now spoken candidly about the move that never was, opening up on The Diary Of A CEO podcast.

He said: "Yeah, I spoke with Tottenham, and we were very close to getting an agreement done. Then, in the last two days of the market, Sporting just said, 'We're not going to sell him. We're going to keep him because we need him'.

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"Yes, because I wanted to play in the Premier League, because for me it is the best league in the world. It's the most competitive one.

"It's the one that I think when you grow up, you dream to play for you know, like full stadiums, top clubs, top players.

"Obviously, I was lucky enough that my dream club to play in England was Man United, and obviously, Tottenham at the time was the option I had, and I was very, very happy to join them because they showed me the process that they were going through."

Fernandes delivered a remarkable season at Old Trafford, setting a new single-campaign record of 21 Premier League assists. However, the Portuguese midfielder has faced his share of criticism, with United icon Roy Keane describing Fernandes as being at the centre of a "circus act" following their 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest on the penultimate weekend of the season.

His frustration towards Keane's remarks was unmistakable on the podcast, published on Monday, as he accused the Irishman of "lying".

The 31-year-old said: "Like I've always said, I don't mind criticism. I've always taken criticism from everyone and anyone and I never reply to anything or whatsoever.

"People have an opinion; they think it's good, bad, whatever. What I don't like is when people lie about things and [in] this case that you said about Roy Keane basically what he said is a lie because... either he saw some other interview or he can't say that I said one thing that I've just not said and luckily for me is everything on record.

"I accept his criticism, I accept that he might like me as a player or not, like me as a person or not. But what I don't like is that he puts words in my mouth that have not been said. That's the only thing I don't like."