If there is one player in the Premier League who currently seems to be scrutinised more than any other, it is Bruno Fernandes.
Some would say it comes with the territory of being Manchester United captain and a leader in a team that is enduring a testing season. The goings on at United have been bountiful during this campaign; and yet even amongst the continual stories to emerge from the club, the talk over Fernandes is constant.
This past week alone, Fernandes appeared to be mocked in a video on Fulham’s official TikTok channel of when he went down and clutched his leg before swiftly getting up again during United’s 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford. That led to Erik ten Hag demanding an apology from Fulham.
The United manager also said that referees are failing to protect his captain as teams are now targeting him.
Then, in midweek, it was Fernandes’s quick thinking that came to the fore as his free-kick in the dying embers of the FA Cup fifth-round game against Nottingham Forest was glanced in by Casemiro to secure a quarter-final against Liverpool.
For a United team that currently seem to play in moments, Fernandes perhaps personifies that more than anyone else.
Throughout the season there have been remarks concerning Fernandes’s occasional histrionics and protestations with referees. He has been booked on four occasions in the Premier League this season for dissent and it has led to both captain and manager having to defend his style of leadership, with Ten Hag appraising him as “a very passionate football player” on Thursday.
There can also be occasions when Fernandes appears a little reckless. Such is his desire to turn a game United’s way, he often tries to lead a one-man press that can then compromise the team’s defensive shape.
Also, he can be guilty of forcing things a little and becomes a little desperate — again signs of his desire to be the hero. There is an argument, though, that United would benefit from a more controlled approach from their captain.
Asked how Fernandes ranks among the players he has worked with in his time in football, Ten Hag replied: “Very highly. First of all, his football skills, he is so creative in the final third, creating chances, he is an absolutely key player and can score a goal.
“But also his output, his contribution to defending jobs, leading and reading situations, reading the press and running in the right moments and pointing other players around him. He shows leadership by example.”
Scrutiny has also come on Fernandes’s effectiveness in the final third. Across his 35 appearances so far this season, the Portuguese playmaker has scored seven goals and set up a further eight. However, a league goal in 2024 is yet to come.
For good or bad, Fernandes influences United
This has not been an easy campaign for Fernandes — even though his key metrics in front of goal are broadly in line with previous seasons — and he has had to deal with a number of moving (and, at times, out-of-form) parts around him both in midfield and attack due to injuries.
Fernandes is yet to properly strike up a collaborative relationship with Rasmus Hojlund since the striker’s arrival at United, and also the 29-year-old’s key passes into the likes of Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford are down when compared to last season. That said, he has racked up 74 chances created this term, which is the most in the Premier League.
Fernandes always tends to start in the No 10 position — his best position — and, when on song, his passing can turn a defensive phrase into a promising counter-attack. Later in games, and normally to afford the arrival of Scott McTominay into midfield, he has been known to shift to the right wing.
It may not be that the style of play under Ten Hag is leading to a slightly more erratic Fernandes, but rather the lack of a notable style of play is actually causing a drop-off in certain areas of his play. Fernandes’s up-and-down performances are in keeping with United’s inconsistent season as a whole.
That said, United are in their best form of the campaign. They have won seven of their last nine games in all competitions but remain in sixth place and eight points off the top four. Last weekend’s home defeat to Fulham did not help their cause.
United will travel to Manchester City on Sunday in hope more than expectation and Ten Hag acknowledged that it will take a collective effort to leave the Etihad Stadium with anything.
“We know we have to give everything, a team performance if you want to get the result there — but if you do that, it is possible,” he said.
“Our form is good, the spirit is very good, we are united, we have togetherness to make a good game-plan like we have done before, against City but also against Liverpool.
“We will prepare well, the players are ready for it, they are looking forward to it — I can smell it when I speak to the players. We are excited.”
In a season notable for chaotic defeats, some critics have accused Fernandes’s playing style of adding fuel to a fire that his team struggle to contain. Away to City, United will have to make the most of their captain’s strengths while covering up his weaknesses. Either way, the scrutiny won’t go away.