Sporting Lisbon midfielder Bruno Fernandes says he would jump at the opportunity of playing alongside Bernardo Silva at club level.

The 24-year-old has been heavily linked with both Manchester City and Manchester United, and the player has expressed he is very keen to move to England.

Fernandes plays with Bernardo for Portugal and when asked if he would like to play for the same club, he said:

“Obviously, playing at the Bernardo side would be very good, as I mentioned a lot. City is very good, it would be a great opportunity. Being able to play alongside a player like Bernardo always makes things simpler.”

Fernandes had a fantastic season for Sporting, scoring 32 goals and contributing 18 assists in 53 appearances.

Reports have suggested that United are the favourites to sign the Portuguese international, with an offer of £71m being lined up but Fernandes was non-committal when asked if United were the frontrunners for his signature:

“I think in England there are a lot of teams that are a big challenge. Obviously, there are two teams that have been talked about a lot, United and City.”

“City are a team that is winning everything in England in recent years. United is one of the teams with more history in England; each one in its own way has its importance and strength.”

“Obviously [they are] two clubs that any player would like to represent, for me it would be an honour to be able to represent either of them.”

A lot of the talk about Fernandes moving to England has come from the Portuguese side of things so far, and it remains to be seen if either Manchester club will make their move for the player.