Friday, 31st January, 2014
FC Porto coach Paulo Fonseca dropped the biggest hint that Fernando is heading towards Manchester City by claiming the player is not "irreplaceable".
The Porto boss was peppered with questions about the potential transfers of Fernando and his club team-mate Eliaquim Mangala during a press conference today.
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While Mangala made the squad for Saturday's clash against Maritimo, Fernando was not so lucky, further fuelling speculation about his exit despite Porto's official 'injury' stance.
Fernando's contract will run out in the summer, and Fonseca was quoted by the BBC as saying: "[Fernando] is a major player in the team, but he's not irreplaceable."
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Pressed further on the Manchester City targets, Fonseca later became more tight-lipped about the situation.
He was quoted by A Bola as saying: "What I can say is that those who are not on call are not available for the game with Maritimo. Moreover, I will not be anticipating scenarios, because nothing can happen.
"I will not talk about the market. We cannot shy away from these issues that have to do with transfers but we will all be calmer when the market is finished."
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