Bruno Fernandes has scored 111 goals in 335 appearances for Manchester United, but the Portugal playmaker’s influence has waned sharply this season, and his captain’s role is now under scrutiny as the club struggles.
It is only seven weeks since Fernandes stood in the Manchester Opera House and spoke of his pride at being named PFA Player of the Year for 2025-26. The United captain had already won the Premier League and Football Writers’ versions of the award, in recognition of his phenomenal contribution to his side’s unexpected third-place finish.
Fernandes scored nine goals and claimed 21 assists last season, breaking a Premier League record jointly held by Thierry Henry and Kevin de Bruyne. Over the final 11 games, of the 21 goals United scored, Fernandes either found the net himself or created 12 of them. In the seven-game run that swept United back into Europe’s elite club competition after a two-year absence, the 31-year-old was a central figure in nine of the 12 goals.
Statistically, it was remarkable, reminiscent of Eric Cantona in the 1995-96 title-winning campaign, when he scored in six successive games, five of them when United scored only once.
“It was a special season for me,” Fernandes told an appreciative audience. “I am very proud.
“But we don’t play tennis. We don’t play just for ourselves. We play for a team, we play for a club, we play for the fans. There is nothing more special than that.”
Those words have particular resonance now, because compared with those exceptional figures, there are far less impressive ones this season.
A slow start to the new campaign
Fernandes has played every minute of United’s six Premier League games. He has three goals and one assist, all of which came against Ipswich in the second game of the campaign, which remains United’s only win so far.
The numbers are better than last term, when he scored twice in the opening six games and failed to create any. However, at that point, Fernandes was playing in the deeper midfield role that Ruben Amorim preferred.
This season, Fernandes is averaging 3.3 shots per game, his second-highest figure, although his best was 3.5 in 2020-21. His average of 0.8 shots on target is joint-second lowest. His chance creation, at 2.5 per game, is the second lowest of his time at Old Trafford and sits well down on the 4.0 he produced last season.
Even more startlingly, he has created just one “big chance” so far, the lofted pass that sent Bryan Mbeumo clear of the Ipswich defence on 30 August. His average last season was one per game.
Fernandes’ numbers, and his general involvement, perhaps go some way to explaining why United have collected just six points from their opening six games. That is their worst start to a league campaign in 40 years, when Ron Atkinson was sacked to make way for Sir Alex Ferguson.
But is Fernandes a reason for United’s malaise, or a symptom of it?
Fitness questions and Carrick’s response
There is uncertainty over the Portugal playmaker’s fitness. Fernandes rarely misses a game, but he was left out of the recent Nations League encounter with Norway, as national team boss Jorge Jesus said the former Sporting man was “playing through pain”.
Fernandes was fit enough to return for the final two internationals of the extended break. Before that, he completed the full 90 minutes in the 4-0 win against Azerbaijani champions Sabah FK in the Champions League.
United manager Michael Carrick does not view it as an issue as he prepares his side to face Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.
“He was carrying something, but that happens a lot,” Carrick said. “Players play with issues.
“It’s not ideal, but it is manageable. Bruno is able to play. That is the commitment he has got.
“He is pretty much over it, was really bright in training this morning and is looking forward to the game.”
Missing Sesko and Casemiro
Towards the end of last season, when Fernandes’ contribution was at its most prolific, Benjamin Sesko was a regular in the number nine role, and veteran Brazilian Casemiro anchored United’s midfield.
Of the nine league goals Sesko has scored in 2026, Fernandes created four. He also set up four of the final five goals Casemiro scored as a United player from 1 February onwards.
Quite aside from goals, the absence of Sesko and Casemiro is clearly being felt. Even Casemiro’s biggest admirers could not claim that United’s current low running numbers are down to the 34-year-old leaving for Inter Miami in the summer, although his positioning and game knowledge remain of a high standard. Fernandes could take risks in the belief that United would not be overrun on transition if he lost the ball.
As for Sesko, his fresh shin injury extends a lack of involvement that is being keenly felt, and for which there is, as yet, no end date.
The club’s power brokers ignored calls for more striking support in the summer and instead reinforced Carrick’s midfield. A plan to cover the Slovenian’s initial absence by using Mbeumo as a number nine had to be scrapped when Amad Diallo suffered an ankle injury just before the opening game at Hull. Matheus Cunha was given the job instead, but he repeatedly dropped deep, into the space Fernandes was occupying, and the pair never found an effective way of dealing with it.
For Fernandes, it feels restrictive. While he is not a player who lacks confidence, his decision-making appears to be suffering. Against Tottenham at the weekend, it took him an incredible 23 minutes just to complete a pass.
Carrick said on Monday, as he looked ahead to the Champions League meeting with Atletico, that no-one was “guaranteed” a place in his team. He put enough caveats around that comment, however, to indicate that leaving out his captain is not in his thinking.
United must start to improve, and that means Fernandes must do the same.
“He’s a top player, Bruno,” Carrick said.
“Sometimes things don’t quite go for you. Sometimes you have a spell of that.
“But he’s done some incredible things for this football club and he will do the same in the future, there’s no doubt about that.”
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