Of all the players tipped to struggle to adapt to life under Ruben Amorim at Manchester United, pretty much the last one that comes to mind is Bruno Fernandes.
The two Iberians proved to be proverbial ships in the night at Sporting Lisbon – Bruno Fernandes joined Manchester United a few months before Ruben Amorim’s appointment back in 2020 – but the assumption held by the majority was that captain and coach would fit hand in glove at Old Trafford.
Fernandes has been glowing in his praise for Amorim’s impact at reigning Portuguese champions Sporting, after all.
Erik ten Hag’s replacement, meanwhile, turned a similarly free-spirited attacking midfielder in Pedro ‘Pote’ Goncalves – labelled Sporting’s ‘new Bruno Fernandes’ in his early days in Lisbon – into one of the finest footballers in his position anywhere on the continent.
So, how could the Bruno Fernandes – Ruben Amorim connection fail?
Well, according to Portuguese reporter Miguel Pereira, a change in dugout at Old Trafford may necessitate a chance in approach from the Red Devils skipper.
Bruno Fernandes told he must change at Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United
“[There is] a question mark of where Bruno Fernandes will play,” Pereira tells the On The Continent podcast.
“He is so massively important to the team. Sometimes, he likes to be all around the pitch and that is not the kind of player Amorim likes.”
Even Bruno’s greatest admirers would have to admit that, sometimes, the captain can be accused of trying to do too much all on his own.
Bruno’s brand of ‘hero-ball’ may have earned Man United plenty of points over the last half-decade, but there are also some rather awkward questions to be asked about whether the Red Devils would benefit from their most influential midfielder being a bit less frantic and more conservative, both in his positioning and his decision-making.
“He likes players to be disciplined, to be in the positions they need to be,” Pereira adds, feeling that Fernandes’ heat map is likely to be a lot more concentrated from now on.
“Bruno Fernandes has proved to be decisive on the [final] pass, decisive on scoring goals, so he fits perfectly in the position Goncalves is playing right now for Sporting. That seems suited for him.
“But it will need an upgrade from Fernandes in understanding that, despite being club captain, he cannot be all over the pitch like sometimes he has been under Ten Hag.”
Fernandes tipped to emulate Pedro Goncalves’ Sporting role
Interestingly, Amorim did not rule out bringing Goncalves to Man United with him when pressed on the subject a fortnight ago. For now, however, his focus will be on coaxing every ounce of potential out of the current Bruno Fernandes rather than the so-called ‘new’ one.
Goncalves, once of Wolves, scored over 80 Sporting goals largely while operating in the left-sided number ten role in Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 system.
Sergio Krithnas, another who knows Portuguese football like the back of his hand, expects this to be the role Fernandes operates in at Old Trafford, potentially with Marcus Rashford lining up as a number nine.
“I’m curious to see where he is going to start Bruno Fernandes,” Krithnas tells The Transfers Podcast. “If Bruno will be one of the two midfielders or whether he will play as a left-winger like with Pedro Goncalves at Sporting.
“Pedro Goncalves was also a midfielder, a number eight, and at Sporting he gradually became a left-winger. I can imagine Bruno Fernandes playing as one of the three guys up front, from the left, while using his aggressiveness to defend from the front.”
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