Manchester United supporters solely have 14 video games left to get pleasure from Casemiro, however will Bruno Fernandes be the identical?
The 31-year-old, who’s at the moment within the ultimate 18 months of his contract, has not been afraid to speak about his future at Previous Trafford in current months, opening up about how shut he got here to becoming a member of Al Hilal in the course of the summer time, whereas hinting at his want to win titles in Spain or Italy.
But when he chooses to stroll away, will anybody actually begrudge him that call?
The Portuguese star performed for the workforce many instances, making 313 appearances, lacking just some video games, and scoring 202 targets and aiding in all competitions.
There has by no means been and can by no means be a Premier League title to go along with it, however he stays a legend and will probably be an nearly unattainable job to fill his place ought to he resolve to go away.
Bruno Fernandes’ finest season rating for Manchester United
Fernandes, who was named Man of the Match on his debut, rapidly turned a key participant within the workforce in the course of the low season, ending his first six months on the membership with 20 targets in simply 22 video games since becoming a member of in January 2020.
His wonderful season continued in 2020/21, with the previous Sporting CP man scoring an enormous 45 targets in 58 video games to the delight of these watching at house.
The much less mentioned in regards to the 2021/22 season, the higher, the truth is, even after a 5-1 thrashing of Leeds on the opening day, neither United nor Fernandes had been removed from their finest, with Cristiano Ronaldo’s exhausted circus doing little to profit his compatriots or the workforce as an entire.
With the following arrival of Erik ten Hag, his affect as a playmaker diminished barely, however he remained a central determine in each the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons, profitable two trophies and nonetheless contributing 29 and 28 targets in these two seasons respectively.
Underneath Ole Gunnar Solskjær he has largely been on his personal, however below Ruben Amorim he has regained that place. Fernandes stood out from the gang in 2024/25, scoring 38 targets and offering assists throughout all fronts to steer United to the Europa League ultimate, and scoring a memorable free-kick towards Arsenal on the finish of the season.
That type has continued this time round, and regardless of beginning in a deeper position as soon as once more, he has already offered 12 assists within the Premier League within the current win over Fulham, and is firmly in his sights to equal Kevin De Bruyne and Thierry Henry’s report of 20 mixed.
Though he does not have the prolific energy he had within the early days of the coronavirus disaster, there’s a maturity to his sport now and the United captain performs a sport that’s nearly completely different to these round him.
Fernandes’ season rating at Manchester United | |
|---|---|
rank | season |
1 | 2020/21 |
2 | 2024/25 |
3 | 2025/26 |
4 | 2019/20 |
5 | 2022/23 |
6 | 2023/24 |
7 | 2021/22 |
Fortunately, he was additionally helped by the membership’s flurry of summer time signings, which lastly lifted the attacking burden off his shoulders.
Manchester United’s most dear participant
Few gamers have actually made their begin at Previous Trafford previously decade or so, and Fernandes, together with Robin van Persie, ranks as some of the profitable immediate transfers.
Certainly, after profitable the Golden Boot with Arsenal the earlier 12 months, the Dutchman scored 26 league targets in his first season in Manchester, propelling Sir Alex Ferguson to their thirteenth and ultimate top-flight title.
He proved himself within the Premier League and confirmed the identical, together with his excellent 2012-13 season through which ‘RVP’ scored towards the Gunners, Manchester Metropolis and Liverpool amongst others.
In keeping with Opta, solely two gamers have since achieved this feat, with the latest being Brian Mbeumo after Marcus Rashford, who replicated it in Van Persie’s debut season, getting off to an excellent begin in new environment.
There’s a quiet clinicalness to the Cameroonian’s play, with Mbeumo extraordinarily adept at ending with each ft, one thing maybe not seen for the reason that former Netherlands worldwide arrived.
There are many nice finishes, together with his first-time effort from an angle at Anfield and his composed slot shot that deftly rounded off the onrushing David Raya on the Emirates.
However whereas there will probably be few matches as nice because the current Manchester derby opener, Van Persie has beforehand loved his personal memorable moments within the sport. that Free kick in stoppage time towards the Etihad.
Mbeumo is at the moment the highest scorer at Previous Trafford with 9 targets, together with eight within the league, and appears lots just like the participant who scored 20 targets for Brentford in his ultimate season at G-Tech.
Not solely has he change into Michael Carrick’s workforce’s high scorer, forward of the likes of Fernandes, however he’s additionally at the moment the membership’s most dear participant, with a worth of 75 million euros (roughly 6.4 billion yen), in response to Transfermarkt.
In the meantime, the captain is sixth on the checklist for €40m (about £34m), maybe influenced by his contract state of affairs, but in addition an indication that there should still be life left in him after Fernandes.
Gamers like Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha are prepared and ready to take up that talismanic mantle.
Neglect Mbeumo and Cunha: the £19m star is now Manchester United’s finest signing since Bruno
Manchester United’s recruitment during the last decade or so has been disastrous, however not all current additions have been with out success.
