United's Missing Piece
Manchester United have finally solved a long-lasting issue.
A key theme in Manchester United’s seven years of inconsistency has been a lack of creativity, particularly in the advanced midfield role.
Since the 2012/13 season in which Sir Alex Ferguson retired, United’s highest number of assists in a single season have come from the position of centre-forward, in the form of Wayne Rooney (12 assists) during the 2013/14 season when David Moyes was in charge.
David Moyes (left) giving instructions to Wayne Rooney (right).
United had to wait a year for someone to inject creativity into the team, and it came in the form of Angel Di Maria, during the 2014/15 season, in which he racked up 11 assists in 27 Premier League games.
Of course, Di Maria’s spell at United was short lived for numerous reasons and despite attempts to replace his assist output with players like Memphis Depay and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, the team still lacked creativity.
Memphis Depay (left) and Henrikh Mkhitaryan (right) couldn’t give United the creative spark that they so needed.
Since Di Maria departed for PSG, it took three years for a United player to register double figures in assist output - with Paul Pogba who supplied 10 assists in 27 Premier League games in the 2017/18 season.
Pogba followed up with an impressive 13 goals and 9 assists during the 2018/19 season, before enduring an injury laden 2019/20 campaign.
Although the re-arrival of Paul Pogba has helped fill the creative gap for the last couple of seasons, his injury struggles as well as an on-going rift between Pogba’s agent Mino Raiola and the club mean that he is most likely on his way out of the club.
Pogba has been severely linked with Juventus and Real Madrid, amid his agent’s rift with Manchester United.
A Sporting Success
Having been without their best assist provider in Paul Pogba for half of the season, United acted upon the (£47 million) transfer of Sporting’s Portuguese attacking midfielder; Bruno Fernandes.
Arguably the most creative attacking midfielder in the world, Fernandes’ end product over the past few seasons have been nothing short of exceptional.
In 137 games for Sporting CP, Fernandes registered an incredible 115 attacking returns - 63 goals and 52 assists.
Bruno Fernandes featuring for Sporting CP
The Fernandes Effect
There were doubts among rival fans when United sealed Fernandes’ signature, but he’s already making a big difference into how the side operates.
At the time of writing this, Bruno has played three Premier League games for Manchester United and has registered impressive attacking returns.
In those three games, he’s contributed with 1 goal and 2 assists - giving United fans a glimpse of his tremendous end product.
Fernandes has endured a successful start to his Manchester United career.
Despite contributing through attacking returns, Fernandes has also made an impact into how the side operates.
At 25-years-old, he’s added maturity to a predominantly young United side that lacked leadership until the acquisition of Maguire.
During his last game against Watford, Fernandes could be seen instructing players like Wan-Bissaka and Daniel James to make runs, due to his confidence and ability to execute long range through-balls.
It’s already been a brilliant start for Bruno Fernandes and it’s fair to say if his impact remains consistent, Manchester United may well have found the missing piece of creativity that they have lacked in previous seasons.
Will Bruno Fernandes continue to be a success for Manchester United?
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Article by: Samuel Slaney
Thumbnail by: Samuel Slaney
Images from: Getty Images & Footy Renders