Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe
Manchester United have had a mixed start to their Premier League season with four points from their opening three games.
The Red Devils were beaten in their opening game by newly-promoted Hull City, before claiming a 5-2 win over Ipswich Town, and then dropping a lead twice in a 2-2 draw with Everton this past weekend. The results have seen Michael Carrick come under fire, with the three fixtures believed to be must-win games considering their opening fixtures.
But there is an acceptance among the fan base that the manager has been dealt a short hand after the club's business in the transfer window, with INEOS prioritising a midfield rebuild and not addressing anything else.
A new-look midfield was needed with Casemiro leaving and Manuel Ugarte suffering a serious knee injury, and the recruitment team responded by bringing in Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans, and Carlos Baleba to bolster the squad.
But the defence has also been in need of reinforcements for a while, and yet nothing was done to help. Luke Shaw's fitness issues are well documented, but he is the only senior left-back in the squad. Harry Maguire was handed a new one-year deal, despite his struggles, and the defence that started against Everton was the same back four that opened the season with a 4-0 defeat to Brentford four years ago.
INEOS have been called out by the fans as a result of their lack of investment in that area of the pitch, and now club legend Wayne Rooney has revealed that they are playing with fire when it comes to their star players too.
INEOS Risking Rooney Repeat With Fernandes
REUTERS/Scott Heppell
In 2010, Wayne Rooney made waves at Old Trafford by handing in a transfer request when the club failed to replace Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo adequately.
Talks over a new contract stalled as the club couldn't give him any assurances over a certain calibre of player being brought in, and the iconic forward asked to leave instead. The situation was resolved quickly, with Rooney eventually signing a new long-term deal, but speaking on the latest episode of Stick to United, the England legend revealed that Fernandes could potentially do similar.
"I think he's definitely got places, a lot of options to go," he said.
"If I was Bruno Fernandes in this pre-season, I think with qualifying for the Champions League at the end of last season, I would have been saying to, whether it was the owner, or the board, or Michael Carrick when he got the job, saying right we've got back in the Champions League we need to kick on.
"It's clear Bruno Fernandes wants to be at Man United, wants to be successful at Man United, and that's where I feel for him a little bit, because he's doing so much to try and do that, and he'll feel like he's getting let down.
"I love Bruno. I think he's brilliant, and he must be thinking like, please bring me some help. I'm doing everything I can. Help me. And I don't think the club's done that with the signings."
Fernandes is now in the final year of his contract at Old Trafford, and while there is an option to extend by a further 12 months, and talks are ongoing over an extension beyond that, if the club don't kick on soon then there is no guarantee they'll be able to convince him to sign.
The club are risking losing their superstar and talisman over their poor attempts to be smart in the market rather than just going for it, and that would be a disaster at Old Trafford.
Michael Carrick during United's win over Everton
Michael Carrick during United's win over Everton