Assessing reason Manchester United 'did not sign Bruno Fernandes'
The main reason Manchester United backed away from signing Bruno Fernandes has been ‘revealed’ by The Mail.
It is claimed United believed Fernandes gave away possession too much and did not fit in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s preferred style of play.
United had been linked with the £65 million rated Sporting star all summer long, after his stunning 32 goal season.
Fernandes was seen as too much of a risk taker in possession.
So spinning this forward, there is a lot of pressure on United’s attacking players to play a certain way.
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United’s stars
Against Chelsea, United’s players didn’t cover themselves in glory in this department.
Paul Pogba, even with his two assists, completed just 76 per cent of his passes and Marcus Rashford a paltry 58 per cent.
Jesse Lingard was most accurate, 88 per cent, creating one chance.
The midfielder with the highest pass success rate last season was Ander Herrera (87 per cent), who was not replaced this summer.
If United’s players are to justify the club’s decision not to sign Fernandes, then they need to keep possession better than against Chelsea.
Risk taker
One of the elements of a creative player is that they will take risks. United need a few more of these, not less.
Paul Pogba led United with assists last season with nine in the Premier League.
But he ranked only 15th in terms of pass accuracy. That’s a risk taker for you.
Herrera was United’s most accurate midfield passer of the ball, but only contributed two assists.
United needed to make and take a few more chances last season, and scored 30 goals less than City.
The creative burden on Paul Pogba is too much and remains so.
Bruno Fernandes is a risk taker, as his pass accuracy of just 75 per cent at Sporting showed last season.
Yet 13 league assists to add to his 20 league goals should have made him worth taking a chance on.
And what happened to improving players? Surely Fernandes had enough talent to for United’s coaches work with to address the rough edges around the 24-year-old’s game? Could he reach a higher level with better players around him?
This excuse over him giving the ball away irks us a bit, mainly because United’s alternative was simply, ‘sign nobody’.
Maybe he can do enough to change United’s mind over the coming months, or the club can find a more well suited different option.
In the meantime, lets hope United’s players can find a balance between keeping possession and creating chances.
Of course another option is that this claim is a falsehood, and United simply could not afford Fernandes. With an ever decreasing annual net spend, its very possible.
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