TNT Sports pundit Rio Ferdinand has urged club captain Bruno Fernandes to become the “right example” for his Manchester United teammates during “certain situations.”
Bruno Fernandes has struggled for form this season amid Manchester United’s lacklustre 2024-25 campaign and the Red Devils skipper has been met with criticism.
The 30-year-old United midfielder has scored six times and registered 10 assists in 27 matches across all competitions in the current season.
Fernandes retained the captain’s armband under Ruben Amorim after the United manager replaced Erik ten Hag in the Old Trafford dugout.
Ruben Amorim missed the influence of the Portugal international in United’s final match of 2024 against Newcastle at Old Trafford on Monday evening.
Fernandes was suspended for the Premier League match after he was sent off in the second half of the 2-0 defeat to Wolves at the Molineux in December 2024.
Ferdinand talks Fernandes and Man Utd star
Manchester United suffered their third consecutive Premier League defeat under Ruben Amorim with their 2-0 loss against Newcastle on Monday.
Alexander Isak broke the deadlock inside five minutes at Old Trafford before Joelinton put Eddie Howe’s men 2-0 up before the 20-minute mark.
United were simply outclassed by Newcastle in the first half and Ruben Amorim was forced to make a key change to reinforce the Red Devils’ vulnerable midfield.
Joshua Zirkzee, who was playing as one of the two No 10s, was hooked off after only 33 minutes and replaced by United and England star Kobbie Mainoo.
Kobbie Mainoo added much-needed stability to the United midfield after slotting alongside Casemiro, with Christian Eriksen being deployed further forward.
Joshua Zirkzee was heckled as he came off the pitch and the United summer signing was spotted heading down the tunnel rather than sitting in the dugout.
Rio Ferdinand insisted that a figure like Bruno Fernandes is desperately needed in “certain situations” for United players after what happened to Zirkzee.
“This is a tough situation, I know that, but he needs people like Bruno, the captain of the team, who needs to set the right example discipline-wise but also in terms of a reaction to certain situations,” he said on Rio Ferdinand Presents.
“We need people like him [Fernandes] to go and get around Zirkzee and make sure, ‘You know what, this ain’t the end for you, there’s a future here.’
“One thing I would say is we’re not seeing the best of any of our players right now and we’ve been saying that for a long time anyway.
“But I think the manager needs to get to a pre-season and to really hammer home his ideas and then we can have a real judgement on him as a manager.”
Why did Amorim sub off Zirkzee?
Joshua Zirkzee later re-emerged from the Old Trafford tunnel and the 23-year-old Dutch forward headed back to the dugout after his frosty reception.
The Netherlands international has faced stinging criticism in his debut season at Old Trafford after United signed him from Serie A side Bologna in the summer.
Speaking after the Newcastle match, Amorim explained why he made the call to withdraw Zirkzee and the importance of the player in returning to the dugout area.
“You have to think about the team,” he said.
“The player is suffering during the game. We needed another midfielder. It was tough on me to do that, I talked with Joshua on that.
“I’m always thinking about the team. At that moment it was important for him to come out.
“I know that Josh is a really good guy. When he went to the tunnel, I can understand that some guys can be in a bad way but he is a really good lad. It is life, and we will support Josh and continue.
“Newcastle were better than Manchester United, they weren’t better than Josh.”
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