Manchester United are once again facing questions over their squad and Ruben Amorim’s tactical approach. Bruno Fernandes is not the root of the team’s problems, but the Portuguese midfielder has come to embody a tactical dilemma that exposes the squad’s limitations.
The 1-1 draw with Fulham last Sunday highlighted this paradox. As captain and the team’s main technical reference, Fernandes was involved in both decisive moments of the match: he missed a first-half penalty and failed to track Emile Smith Rowe for Fulham’s equaliser. But the issue goes beyond one poor performance—it is about how his deeper role reduces his influence.
Bruno Fernandes’ deeper position and reduced impact
Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim on August 24, 2025
Last season, Amorim experimented with playing Bruno Fernandes deeper to improve United’s ability to play out from the back. The idea was for the captain to help initiate attacks while still arriving in the box to finish. In practice, this adjustment has curtailed creativity and exposed defensive limitations in midfield.
This was clear against Fulham. Fernandes played alongside Casemiro, then Mason Mount, and finally Manuel Ugarte. None of these pairings proved effective.
Alex Iwobi, who scored Fulham’s goal, revealed the opponents’ strategy: “We knew we could get in behind their two midfielders,” he said in a post-match interview. United’s predictable system made things easier for Fulham.
The arrivals of Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo were meant to ease Fernandes' creative burden. However, shifting the captain deeper has stunted the development of Amad Diallo and Kobbie Mainoo, a youth prospect who was unused against Fulham. Amorim has made it clear these two are direct competitors for Fernandes’ role.
The risk of wasting talent at Manchester United
Manchester United's Kobbie Mainoo on May 4, 2025
Fernandes’ positioning from the Fulham match illustrates the problem: he was heavily involved in build-up play but rarely entered the opposition’s box. While this reduces the captain’s creative impact, it also limits the growth of Mainoo, a homegrown talent who could add a fresh dynamic to midfield.
Fitting Bruno Fernandes, the new attacking recruits, and Old Trafford’s promising youngsters into the same system remains a puzzle for Amorim. The coach is still seeking the ideal balance.
Rumours have emerged of interest from Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia, but United have no plans to sell their captain this window. Fernandes himself rejected an offer from Al-Hilal and remains committed to Manchester.
Amorim is left with the challenge of finding an on-field solution: maximising Fernandes' strengths—vision, decision-making, leadership—without exposing his weaknesses in a role that may not fully suit him.
This article was originally published on Trivela.
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