Fernandes: The trophies, the assist record and his future

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has not come close to winning the Premier League or Champions League since joining the club in 2020.

He did lift a couple of domestic cups under Erik ten Hag – and if United finish third this season, it will be a position they have only bettered once during Fernandes’ time at Old Trafford.

But it represents a meagre return for a player many argue is United’s best signing since legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, and someone, they argue, who deserves a place among the club’s best in the Premier League era.

On Friday, he was named the Football Writers’ Association’s footballer of the year. But Fernandes is not one for coveting individual awards.

When he spoke to the media in October, he said: “I don’t see it that one player is better than another because he wins more trophies. Not every time the best player in the world is the one that wins the Ballon d’Or.

“I want to win trophies. I want to be recognised by the many good things I did for the club, for bringing something back to the club, not just my individual numbers.”

United will not win a trophy this season, but there are still a couple of significant milestones ahead of Fernandes.

He needs just one more assist to equal the individual Premier League record of 20 in a single campaign – jointly held by Arsenal great Thierry Henry and former Manchester City star Kevin de Bruyne.

Fernandes is eight clear of Manchester City’s Rayan Cherki in the Premier League’s assists chart this season, with West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen third with 10 assists.

Beating the record clearly means a lot to Fernandes, who will be a key part of Portugal’s World Cup squad this summer. So much so, one of his United team-mates told him he felt Fernandes would previously have taken a shot against Brentford recently, rather than set up striker Benjamin Sesko. Fernandes rejected that notion.

Fernandes is also favourite to win the prestigious PFA Players’ Player of the Year award, which Henry and De Bruyne both took twice.

Despite the lack of major trophies, would the assist record and another player of the year award confirm his status as one of the most creative forces of the Premier League era?

The ‘assist king’ tends to be thought of as a creator.

The reality is slightly different.

In the past five seasons, Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has had the most assists twice, and strikers Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa) and Harry Kane (then of Tottenham) have done it once each. None of that trio would be regarded as a creator in the mould of playmaker De Bruyne, who finished top on four occasions.

Maybe a better comparison with Fernandes in terms of prizes won would be Cesc Fabregas during his time at Arsenal.

In that spell, when he had seven years as a regular first-team player until leaving in 2011, the Spain international had the most assists in two seasons. The biggest domestic prize he won in that time was the FA Cup – and it wasn’t until he returned to England with Chelsea, after a stint at Barcelona, that Fabregas won the Premier League.

During the Premier League’s early years, Southampton’s Matt le Tissier and Liverpool’s Steve McManaman both finished top of the assists chart. They didn’t win a league title either.

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard finished top of the assists chart in 2013-14, won the PFA Player of the Year award in 2006 and its FWA equivalent in 2009. While he did inspire Liverpool to a remarkable Champions League victory in 2005, Gerrard never won the league, but no-one would question his status as a Premier League great.

Whether Fernandes receives individual accolades or not, United fans will want to be certain their talisman is staying.

His contract has a year to run, and the club have an option for another season.

After turning down a mammoth financial offer to join Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal last summer, there had been an expectation Fernandes would leave if United failed to secure Champions League qualification.

With that now achieved, there is a desire on the player’s side to start talking over an extension. United are not unwilling to talk but are determined not to deviate from a pre-stated desire to keep their wage bill under control.

The club feel they are in a strong position given Fernandes will be 33 when his contract expires if the option is triggered.

What will focus minds on all sides is a release clause set at 65m euros (£56.23m) that would allow him to join a club outside England provided it is triggered early enough.

Fernandes is known to be enthused by the challenges ahead at Old Trafford. It remains to be seen how that would be affected if the release clause is triggered and United have failed to meet his expectations.

Speaking before Saturday’s Premier League trip to Sunderland, interim head coach Michael Carrick seemed relaxed about the situation.

“With Bruno, you can see he’s happy and he’s playing some fantastic football, maybe as good as he’s played – and he’s had really good spells here,” he said.

“He’s got a big end to the season here and a big summer, of course. But, yes, as a football club, we love having him here. He’s a big part of what we do.”

Under former manager Ruben Amorim, Bruno Fernandes partnered Casemiro in a midfield two as Manchester United played in a 5-2-3 shape. His role was to shoulder much of United’s build-up responsibility, helping them get up the pitch.

Higher up, Amorim encouraged passing routines that ended with direct through balls for attackers and wing-backs running in behind.

Fernandes was tasked with playing the long pass from deep, and although this got United into dangerous areas, his team-mates needed more than just one long through ball to turn possession into goals.

Carrick has moved to a more traditional and defensively secure 4-2-3-1 that encourages fast counter-attacks. Fernandes is the number 10 in this system, surrounded by Kobbie Mainoo, Casemiro, Bryan Mbeumo or Amad Diallo, plus Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko.

By being positioned higher up the pitch – closer to team-mates and with more passing options – he is able to generate chances more often. The reduced physical demands of his role ensure that when he does play passes late in the game, he has the energy to execute them more reliably.

What jumps out with Fernandes is the similarity in the assists he has made. Looking at his past 10 assists for Manchester United, three patterns are consistent.

The first is a set of assists that come from crosses with his right foot from the right side of the pitch. These can be further split into those that come from open play or via set-pieces – including corners or free-kicks.

When Fernandes gets on the ball and looks to cross, teams inadvertently drop off closer to goal. Fernandes’ crosses from the right swing back away from goal, which often gives his team-mates space to head the ball.

Casemiro’s aerial quality has been remarkable, with right-sided outswingers from Fernandes converted by the Brazilian against Fulham, Newcastle, Aston Villa and Leeds in recent weeks. Fernandes has set up Casemiro six times – the most any player has assisted a team-mate in the league this season.

The second group of assists have come from Fernandes starting in a central number 10 position before moving into wide areas.

This poses a challenge for the defending side in terms of who is responsible for marking him, which can leave Fernandes unmarked.

His movement often provides United with an overload in the wide areas and, with time and space on the ball, Fernandes has made some impressive assists.

From the right flank, his ability to drive with the ball pushes opposition defences closer to their own goal before he looks for cut-backs into the space in front of the defence – resulting in assists against Chelsea and Fulham.

Lastly, playing in transition under Carrick, Fernandes has attacked through the middle against disorganised defences.

Carrying the ball up the pitch, he holds it, waiting to commit one of the opponent’s defenders.

He often moves his body in a way that looks like he is going to pass to one team-mate, before passing it to the spare man after fooling the defenders.

Carrick has utilised Fernandes in a role that suits his strengths far more, but the captain’s ability to hold on to the ball, delaying the pass until the very last moment, is likely to have been a skill he mastered when having to play more slowly, deeper on the pitch, under Amorim this season.