Bruno Fernandes has been linked to Manchester United for a while and has recently emerged as a very real potential transfer. His links to some of England’s biggest clubs started in the summer of 2019. He had just finished a brilliant season in Portugal with 32 goals in 50 appearances. The likes of Liverpool and Manchester City wanted to sign him, however, United have emerged as clear favourites. This comes amid an injury crisis for the Red Devils, in which they are lacking two first-choice midfielders and their top scorer. This has left them devoid of creativity, so the signing of Bruno Fernandes could help United.
What Bruno Fernandes Can Do to Help Manchester United
Lack of Squad Depth in Attack
United have struggled with injuries this season, especially in attack.
Firstly, Anthony Martial was out for nearly two months at the beginning of the season with a hamstring injury. This seemed to negatively impact Marcus Rashford, who only scored once in the five Premier League games without the Frenchman. Following his return, however, Rashford got nine goals in eight games and Martial three in four. While Martial was out, United won just one of their five games.
Paul Pogba is always an attacking threat, however, he has been out for much of the season. He is currently recovering from an ongoing ankle issue, and United fan will have to wait until late February to see him back in action.
The most recent addition to the reds’ injury struggles is top scorer Marcus Rashford. The young Englishman was in the form of his life until his recent back injury. Now he looks set to miss almost the entire rest of the season, something disastrous for a United team already lacking depth going forward.
This has left the Red Devils with very few options in their 4-2-3-1 formation. It seems that despite the great inconsistency, Andreas Pereira is being picked over Mason Greenwood to start for Manchester United, however, another disappointing performance against Burnley may change that.
The addition of Bruno Fernandes would help United tremendously in depth. The quality he brings would also bring many positive changes to the side, giving them a chance at top four.
Inability to Create Chances
Manchester United have had many issues with their creativity this season. Paul Pogba, their main source of chance production, being out for most of the season has brought increased difficulty in creating chances. The current midfield of Fred and Nemanja Matic is, perhaps, not the most creative. They may bring many qualities with them, however, creativity is not one of them, and United are finding it very difficult to make chances for themselves, something Bruno Fernandes specialises in.
Strengths
Bruno Fernandes is a player of many strengths. Many of these are in areas in which United either are very weak or have very little depth in.
Taking Set Pieces
One of Bruno Fernandes’ best assets is his ability to take great free kicks. This is certainly an extremely weak part of United’s game. They have quite the large areal presence with the likes of Harry Maguire, Paul Pogba, Scott McTominay and Victor Lindelof all significant targets to aim for from a set-piece. Despite this, United have scored one of the lowest numbers of goals from set-pieces in the league. This is most likely due to poor deliveries, something on which Fernandes would have an immediate impact.
Key Passes
Perhaps the weakest part of United as a whole is the ability to find a killer pass. This is the Portugueses’ true area of expertise. He is able to pick out many incredible passes and has made 74 key passes in the league alone this season. He may only have seven assists this campaign, however, with a more potent attack such as that of United, he would be getting many more. Not only would this provide goals, but it would provide the fans with the excitement they have been lacking ever since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson.
These traits, as well as many more, show why Bruno Fernandes would be such a good buy for United. Not only can he provide them with the necessary creativity, goals and assists, but he can spark a little bit of excitement in what is a largely dull, injury-hit side. It is certainly something all can agree on that Bruno Fernandes could help United.
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