The last few years have not been kind to Manchester United. They have gone through a slew of unsuitable managers and have enjoyed minimal success, but there has been a constant light shining through the darkness – Bruno Fernandes.
However, at the age of 31, Fernandes isn’t getting any younger. Additionally, he is courted by interest from other clubs seemingly every transfer window – his time at Old Trafford could come to a close sooner, rather than later.
Today, we’ll look at the possibilities of who might replace him – but first, we want to take a look back at his time at the club and to examine what his role under Ruben Amorim actually entails.
A history of Bruno Fernandes at Manchester United
Fernandes joined United in the final days of the 2020 January transfer window. Immediately, he established himself a goalscoring midfielder, finding the back of the net eight times in 14 Premier League appearances.
Since then, outside of a few lulls in form, Fernandes grew from strength to strength at United. He has won the FA Cup and the League Cup with the Red Devils and has reached the final of the Europa League twice.
Truthfully, Fernandes’ trophy cabinet does not reflect his quality – he has deserved to win more over the course of his career, but the constant maelstrom of incompetence at Old Trafford has often hampered his chances.
What is Fernandes’ role under Ruben Amorim?
While primarily an attacking midfield, Fernandes has dropped into a deeper role under the stewardship of Ruben Amorim. At first glance, this would seem like an unsuitable move, but the Portuguese international has made it work.
Fernandes’ experience and intelligence allows him to maintain a defensive shape while United are out of possession, while having Casemiro or Manuel Ugarte at the side of him gives him scope to utilise his attacking prowess on the ball.
He is integral to Amorim’s setup at United – the Red Devils have lost all of their Premier League games in which Fernandes did not feature under the 40-year-old.
Potential replacements
With that in mind, who could possibly replace Fernandes? Truthfully, there is no like-for-like replacement – Fernandes is a unique footballer in many ways, but there are some suitable candidates lying around.
Perhaps the most obvious choice would be Pedro Goncalves from Sporting CP. Amorim, being a former Sporting CP manager, has worked with Goncalves in the past – in fact, he enjoyed some of his best goalscoring seasons under Amorim’s tutelage.
Morgan Rogers at Aston Villa could also be an option, though he would need time to adjust to Amorim’s style of play. Additionally, like Fernandes, he would also need to make the switch from attacking midfielder to central midfielder. This is a risky proposition, as there is no guarantee that Rogers would be able to make the transistion, but the rewards could be endless if done right.
However, one player who would struggle in Fernandes’ role is Kobbie Mainoo. He lacks the positional awareness and overall experience to truly thrive in that position – he needs to play in a midfield three, which Amorim won’t accomodate. Instead, we’d suggest that Amorim should play him as one of the two attacking midfielders instead.