Manchester United have not had too many stand-out names for the 23/24 campaign.
It’s been a strange season so far for Erik ten Hag and his Manchester United first-team squad. There have been highs, and most certainly lows.
There have been some shining lights. The likes of Rasmus Hojlund, Kobbie Mainoo, Alejandro Garnacho and Lisandro Martinez have all emerged in the Ten Hag era, and are all talents that will remain at the club for, hopefully, years to come.
But one player who was around Old Trafford before Ten Hag’s signings was club captain Bruno Fernandes. He, statistically, is underperforming in one specific department this season.
Bruno Fernandes isn’t scoring enough this season
Popular football stats outlet WhoScored released a team of the ‘Premier League xG Underperformance XI’ earlier this week – which included one Manchester United star, Fernandes.
Fernandes is performing -3.35 under the goals expected for the Portuguese Magnifico.
He has been less prominent in front of goal this season, but what can’t be disputed is still how vital a player he is to the Red Devils.
Underperforming or not – Bruno Fernandes is vital to Manchester United
Fernandes is always the heartbeat of Manchester United, no matter how he’s performing. The captain always does set the standard in terms of work rate.
He’s up and down the pitch constantly for the Red Devils, and is by far the hardest worker in the Manchester United setup.
It is a shame that goals seem to have slowed down. Particularly when he first arrived for £46m from Sporting Lisbon, Bruno was averaging a goal a game essentially.
He has adopted a slightly different role under Ten Hag, but even so, he should be up there in terms of goalscorers. Manchester United still have at least 11 games left this season. Let’s see what he can climb to.
READ MORE: Join the conversation with the United in Focus Whatsapp group
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
