Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
The cavalry is returning for Manchester United, and they finally have their captain back as Bruno Fernandes returned to pre-season.
After an underwhelming World Cup, sacrificed at the altar of Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes will be glad to return to Michael Carrick’s Man Utd.
Carrick allowed him to play the best football of his career last season at Old Trafford, but some changes are afoot this season already.
It will result in Fernandes having a new role at the club due to Mason Mount’s pre-season exploits.
Manchester United Training Session
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Getty Images
Bruno Fernandes’ new role at Man Utd
Last year, Carrick came in and simplified the game for Fernandes, who was having to do defensive midfielder shifts for Ruben Amorim.
Under Carrick, Fernandes was given the positional freedom to start from the No. 10 spot, where he utilised his creative talents closer to the goal.
The result was a record-breaking season where he set a new benchmark for Premier League assists in a season, finishing with 21.
His first assist came on Matchday 8 last season, so the figure 21 is easily breakable if he plays under Carrick for a full season.
That is even more likely seeing his new role has evolved at the club in his absence.
Mason Mount’s resurgence as a mobile defensive midfielder so far this pre-season bodes well for Fernandes, who won’t have to act as the carrier, progressor, and creator all at once.
Mount looks adept at carrying the ball with jinking dribbles; he loves to put in a tackle or two to win it back, and Andrey Santos alongside him takes care of progressive passing.
In this new-look United, Fernandes can stay in the final third for most of the game and be devastating, safe in the knowledge that things behind him are being taken care of, offensively and defensively.
Finally, Fernandes’ tracking back will become a luxury instead of a necessity. The Premier League is about to see the final version of Fernandes get unleashed.
Mason Mount is making everything tick
Santos was always going to help with the progressive passing, but just him and Youri Tielemans were not going to be enough.
Mason Mount win rate comparison
Mason Mount win rate comparison
It is Mount’s success as a surprise defensive midfielder that has alleviated concerns about United’s midfield more than anything else.
He does the things nobody else does in that role. Kobbie Mainoo is a carrier who doesn’t do long passes, Tielemans does long passes but doesn’t carry, and Santos has positional discipline but is playing a defensive-minded role.
Mount is the one who connects the defence with the attack by taking the ball on the half-turn and executing pressing schemes
He is the one who can mix up his passing range, or ghost into the box for cutbacks, while having the combativeness to snap into tackles.
Suddenly, Mount looks like the most complete defensive midfielder at the club, a statement that would have been unthinkable two months ago.
Fernandes will benefit from that surprise development more than anybody else.