Harry Maguire is still the Man Utd club captain but Bruno Fernandes usually wears the armband on a match day and he’s having an influence off the pitch as well.
Bruno Fernandes has worn the armband regularly for United this season
Opinions can shift quickly when it comes to Bruno Fernandes, the Manchester United midfielder who is leading by example one minute and being castigated for petulance on the pitch the next.
At 28, there is little point in expecting Fernandes to change. The Portugal international has high standards and a burning desire to win and when it comes to the heat of combat, that doesn’t always manifest itself in the best possible way.
The prime example of that this season was the 7-0 defeat by Liverpool, when Fernandes looked unable to cope emotionally when the game fell apart for United in the second half. He lost self-control and discipline and arguably harmed his team rather than helped them.
He was heavily criticised for his approach on the pitch that day and it was clearly less than ideal that the captain would allow himself to show those emotions so visibly when what the second half needed was some cool heads to limit the damage and stop the flow of the game.
But Erik ten Hag has defended Fernandes as a leader and after he played through the pain barrier a couple of weeks ago he took another shot at the player’s critics.
“A couple of weeks ago there were questions about his captaincy, which was crazy because he is such a big leader,” said Ten Hag. “He leads by example, gives so much energy to the team, so much desire and determination. If you want to win games and trophies, you need such players.”
Fernandes certainly puts his body on the line for his club. His tally of 4,808 minutes played this season is the most of any outfield player at the club, 749 minutes more than Marcus Rashford in second. The next player on the list is Casemiro, who has played 1,247 minutes fewer. That equates to Fernandes playing nearly 14 full matches more than the third most called-on player in the squad. That is staggering.
In comparison, actual club captain Harry Maguire has only just ticked over the 1,500-minute mark and has started just 15 games. He wears the armband when he plays, but it’s Fernandes who is captain more often than not.
The delineation between a club captain and someone actually taking on that duty on a matchday isn’t always clear. Ten Hag recently praised Maguire’s improved leadership in the “training space”, but the Dutchman also wants a squad of leaders.
In that context, it was interesting to hear Fernandes talk about his own role in Alejandro Garnacho’s development after the win against Wolves on Saturday.
Fernandes had publicly cited Garnacho’s attitude as being a problem in pre-season earlier this year, but explained why he said that and how he’s trying to mentor the 18-year-old off the pitch.
“That message was from the manager, it wasn’t from me, I just heard what the manager said,” said Fernandes. “What I have to say to Garnacho, I say to him at the training ground, whenever we are eating, on the training ground, wherever. If he wants to hear, he hears. If not, he doesn’t, but I try to help. I think he did an interview talking about me trying to help him a lot of times, and that’s what I’m trying to do.”
Fernandes clearly has the authority and the respect to deliver home truths and maintain a close relationship with the same player. It’s also natural that Garnacho, born and raised in Spain, would gravitate to a Portuguese-speaking attacking player rather than Maguire.
But it does also show that, away from the histrionics we sometimes see on the pitch, Fernandes is displaying the credentials to take on the role of club captain on a full-time basis.
There must be a consideration to switching that around this summer. It might be time for Maguire to depart Old Trafford anyway, but even if he stays Fernandes should be under consideration to take on all of the captaincy responsibilities. His relationship with Garnacho shows he is capable of fulfilling the brief.
Source: manchestereveningnews.co.uk
