Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes has urged Red Devils head coach Ruben Amorim to move Bruno Fernandes into a number 10 position in a bid to help ease the team's issues.
The 20-time English champions were beaten 3-0 by Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon, with the loss proving to be the team's third in all competitions this term.
Fernandes once again struggled to make his mark in a central midfield spot, with Man United overrun by the Citizens in the middle.
Scholes has said that Amorim must start using "the most creative player on the team" in his more natural position in order to help the out-of-form team improve.
Fernandes' selection in central midfield on Sunday was a surprise considering that Mason Mount and Matheus Cunha were both missing due to injury, and both he and Manuel Ugarte found it difficult in the Manchester derby.
Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes pictured on August 24, 2025
Scholes: 'Fernandes has to play in the number 10 spot'
"He is the most creative player on the team, he should be playing as the number 10, there is no doubt about that," Scholes told Sky Sports.
"But he is being asked to do something different. It is normal for a number 10 like he is to be able to do it for two or three games, to fill in when a midfielder is injured or suspended or something. But then you get a little bit bored of going back into position to defend.
"I did both roles. As a number 10, the last thing you want to think about is defending. Once you go back into a two in midfield, all of a sudden you are thinking about defence, about what your runner is doing. It's a totally different mindset.
"When I first came into the team I was a centre-forward. I ended up playing as a number 10 for three, four, five years, which I loved.
"Defending was not my strong point. I didn't like having to think about defending and as a number 10 you didn't have to. All you think about is getting your team to play, creating chances, scoring goals."
Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes on August 27, 2025
Fernandes took the positives from the derby defeat
Fernandes insisted after the derby that Man United could take positives from the three-goal loss.
"You have to look at what we did well. It was obviously not enough because you want to win football games, not see the positives from the game," Fernandes told Sky Sports News.
"What we did here was not enough to get the result. All we have to got to take from this game is obviously to look at what we need to do better and go forward to the next game.
"We need to score goals and not to concede. It is the main thing of football. We keep creating chances to score and we are not able to score as many as we wanted.
"We have to be more in control of certain situations. We conceded three goals that should have been avoided. For the first one, we need to be more brave. When we go in full pressure in one-v-ones, City take that risk against us today. We need to do the same.
"The second goal was from a throw-in and we need to be much more aware in that moment. The third goal, a thing like that can happen, but we need to be in a better position to not being countered like that."
Man United will be aiming to bounce back when they host Chelsea on Saturday, and there will be major pressure on Amorim following a lacklustre start to the season.
Amorim's job has again been called into question, with the Portuguese said to be losing the support of some of the players, but it is understood that he is still being backed by major figures at Old Trafford.
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