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What a season Bruno Fernandes is having fun with at Manchester United. Certainly, that is shaping as much as be his most interesting marketing campaign since arriving at M16.
Switching roles
Regardless of a shift in roles, the Portuguese magnifico has remained the heartbeat of United’s play, the person guaranteeing issues occur.
Since his transfer from Sporting Clube de Portugal within the winter of 2020, Fernandes has been among the many Premier League’s standout quantity 10s.
But this season, Ruben Amorim, dismissed by INEOS in early January, opted to redeploy him as a deep-lying midfielder. Believing the United captain may anchor his system, Amorim stationed him in a two-man pivot simply forward of the defence.
Ordinarily, such a positional change may need curtailed Fernandes’ affect. Many anticipated defensive duties to blunt the 31-year-old’s artistic edge, but it surely didn’t. Whereas some argued he may have been extra impactful additional ahead, Fernandes nonetheless discovered methods to dictate play.
Return to the ten position
When Amorim departed, one of many instant calls was to revive Fernandes to his pure quantity 10 position. Darren Fletcher, stepping in as interim, made the tactical tweak, and Michael Carrick has since maintained it.
Again in his favoured place, Fernandes has been electrical: seven aim contributions, one aim and 6 assists, in seven matches.
All of a sudden, Amorim’s choice to play him deeper seems questionable. But even in that deeper position, Fernandes delivered: 5 targets and 7 assists in 18 appearances underline his consistency.
Bruno Fernandes for Manchester United
| Statistic | |
|---|---|
| Appearances | 315 |
| Objectives | 104 |
| Assists | 99 |
Recognition from WhoScored
It could be unfair to let positional debates overshadow the brilliance of his season. Fortunately, WhoScored have highlighted his influence.
With a 7.42 ranking, Fernandes is at present their highest-rated Premier League participant and has earned a spot of their Staff of the Season to this point, alongside Declan Rice (as the one Premier League gamers).
Staff of the season to this point | Europe’s high 5 leagues 🇪🇺 ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/nea53ZBlhP
— WhoScored (@WhoScored) February 16, 2026
Worthy of honour
Seeing Fernandes recognised is becoming.
Hopefully, it spurs him to scale even larger heights, guiding United again into the Champions League and maybe even breaking the Premier League’s 20-assist document, collectively held by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne.
Featured picture Carl Recine through Getty Photographs
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