Again in 2018, then-Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho singled out midfield star, Nemanja Matic, for reward following the FA Cup quarter-final victory over Brighton and Hove Albion, with the Serbian large described as an “island of persona and need and management”, whereas “surrounded by an absence of persona, class and need”.
It will not be incorrect for brand spanking new boss Ruben Amorim to repeat such a press release with regard to his talismanic skipper, Bruno Fernandes, with the 30-year-old having little doubt been United’s ‘island’ within the drab Manchester derby on Sunday afternoon.
With Amad Diallo having been absent since early February, the onus has largely fallen on Fernandes to make issues occur for his facet, with the weekend stalemate once more no completely different.
Lauded by MUTV pundit Phil Bardsley because the “finest participant on the pitch by a rustic mile”, the Portuguese playmaker is intent on making an attempt to steer this sinking ship to a brighter vacation spot.
Most possibilities created in PL – 24/25 | |
|---|---|
Participant | Possibilities created |
Bruno Fernandes | 75 |
Cole Palmer | 73 |
Mo Salah | 71 |
Enzo Fernandez | 64 |
Dejan Kulusevski | 63 |
Mikkel Damsgaard | 55 |
Bryan Mbeumo | 55 |
Leif Davis | 53 |
Youri Tielemans | 53 |
Eberechi Eze | 51 |
Stats through FotMob | |
As soon as there was the “Harry Kane crew” – as Tottenham Hotspur had been mockingly described by Pep Guardiola in 2017 – with United now in peril of turning into the ‘Bruno Fernandes crew’, except signings of an analogous ilk could be discovered…
Newest on Man Utd’s seek for a ahead
Having now failed to attain in 12 Premier League video games this season, the precedence for Amorim and co this summer time will certainly be to bolster the misfiring ahead line, with the 40-year-old maybe eager to raid his former facet, Sporting CP, to assist revive his present ranks.
The Portuguese coach has already missed out on Chelsea-bound teenager, Geovany Quenda, nonetheless, whereas there have been experiences that it’s ‘unlikely’ {that a} reunion with Sporting aim machine, Viktor Gyokeres, will happen this summer time.
That may be a view that has been echoed by a current report from GIVEMESPORT, with the piece outling that the ‘most certainly big-name’ to reach from the Lisbon outfit is definitely Francisco Trincao, reasonably than Gyokeres.
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Certainly, the previous Barcelona and Wolverhampton Wanderers winger is famous as a ‘main’ different to present Molineux star, Matheus Cunha, amid Amorim’s seek for a brand new ahead, with the United boss having ‘pinpointed’ Trincao as a viable choice.
The 25-year-old – who has a reported £67m launch clause in his current contract – is alleged to be ‘firmly in Amorim’s sights’ forward of the beginning of the window, with the Portuguese ace having already confirmed himself to be an actual weapon in his compatriot’s 3-4-3 set-up.
Why Man Utd might be concentrating on the following Bruno Fernandes
It virtually would not want repeating what Fernandes has achieved in a United shirt to date, with the skilled midfielder chalking up 95 targets and 83 assists in 279 video games in all competitions so far, whereas profitable the Carabao Cup and FA Cup besides.
Signed from Sporting for a price of round £46m in January 2020, the playmaking genius had confirmed his high quality throughout his stint with the Liga Portugal facet, racking up 113 targets and assists in simply 137 video games throughout all fronts.
Whereas working in a extra superior function than his worldwide colleague, Trincao – who has ten caps for his nation – may nicely observe in Fernandes’ footsteps, having additionally dazzled in Lisbon in current occasions.
The tough left-footer boasts 61 targets and assists in 146 video games for his present facet, with that together with a outstanding whole of 9 targets and 15 assists in 2024/25 to date. Again at Outdated Trafford, solely Fernandes has chalked up extra aim involvements (33) this season.
It was really Amorim who “launched Trincao’s skilled profession at Braga” in 2019, as per author Zach Lowy, earlier than reuniting with him at Sporting, with the in-demand ahead having registered 56 aim involvements in 131 video games beneath the present United boss in whole.
Whereas he did discover life troublesome within the Premier League beforehand at Wolves – after scoring and helping simply 4 occasions in 30 video games for the Outdated Gold – he may nicely be deserving of one other crack at it, not least beneath a well-recognized face like Amorim.
As soon as hailed as a “actually thrilling participant” at Molineux by technical director Scott Sellars, Trincao evidently mirrors Fernandes in his inventive prowess, having created 14 ‘massive possibilities’ and averaged 2.2 key passes per recreation within the league this season. Fernandes, for reference, has created 12 ‘massive possibilities’, albeit whereas averaging 2.5 key passes per recreation in England’s high flight.
With the Purple Devils skipper having dropped right into a deep-lying berth of late, his inventive affect may then be replicated by the one-time Barca man in one of many two quantity ten roles, thus serving to to attempt to spark some life into the membership’s floundering ahead line.
Having seen the magic that Fernandes can conjure up in English soccer, if Trincao may make a fraction of that affect, then United – and Amorim – will probably be on to a winner.
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Man Utd have their very own celebrity brewing, amid hyperlinks with Sporting’s Viktor Gyokeres
