Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes has had another impressive campaign at club level.
The Portugal international started the season in a slow fashion with limited goal contributions but his form has been quite spectacular since the restart after the World Cup.
Fernandes has registered 13 goals and 15 assists for United this term. This is his sixth successive campaign where he has reached double figures in terms of goals and assists.
In our view, the 28-year-old is already a world-class player. We could see the best of him next season if United can recruit a marquee striker, who can convert the big chances created.
Meanwhile, Fernandes has been United’s regular skipper this season with Harry Maguire on the bench.
The former Sporting star has led by example with his performances for most of the campaign and his ever-presence in the starting line-up makes him the perfect fit for the captain’s role.
United have yet to formally confirm Fernandes as the permanent leader of the squad but it seems a no-brainer decision for manager Erik ten Hag with the midfielder’s importance.
Another big factor in Fernandes’ favour is his exceptional fitness. The Portuguese star has not missed a single game through injury during the course of his entire playing career.
This is a very rare statistic in the current era. We have seen players picking up niggles every now and then due to the heavy workload but Fernandes has been injury-free throughout.
This season, the midfielder has played 5,074 minutes, only David de Gea has managed more (5,160). Marcus Rashford is a far third on the list with 4,210 minutes played for United.
Hence, Fernandes should get the captain’s armband next season without question.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com