Fernandes's existing £220,000-a-week terms run out next summer, though United retain the option to extend by a further year.
The club are said to be adamant they want the 31-year-old to stay and are working towards an agreement before the end of the year, despite fresh speculation surrounding his future. His importance to the side was underlined once again at the weekend with a hat-trick and an assist in the 5-2 win over Ipswich, coming in the same week he was named PFA Player of the Year.
Galatasaray have emerged as suitors this summer, reportedly ready to offer a four-year deal that would double his current wages along with a £3.5m signing-on fee, while Juventus and AC Milan have also been credited with monitoring his situation - interest that persists even though the £56.7m release clause once written into his contract expired in July.
It echoes last year's saga, when Fernandes came close to leaving for Al-Hilal after his agent, Miguel Pinho, held talks in Riyadh over a deal worth around £200m to the player across three years and £100m to Manchester United.
He ultimately turned it down, though he later admitted feeling "hurt" that the club had been prepared to accept the Saudi club's offer.
Since arriving from Sporting Lisbon in 2020, Fernandes has scored 110 goals and provided 109 assists in 329 appearances, and set a Premier League record with 21 assists last season. Speaking last week, before this contact with United was confirmed, he made his priorities clear.
"For me, it's about being the best I can to keep myself playing with the best - and playing with the best is playing in the Premier League and playing for Man United," he said.
"The goals and everything that are set to my season every year is always the same. I don't change, and it doesn't change by being here for a longer period or a smaller one.
"I play at the strength the manager needs me to play, and then if I'm not capable or able to do it, I need to step aside. I think every player needs to understand their timings, their moments."