Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes is leading the charge under current head coach Michael Carrick.
It is now over six years since Manchester United signed Bruno Fernandes, and the Portuguese star quickly became an instant hit.
Fernandes has produced sustained brilliance since his 2020 move from Sporting, despite the continual changes in the dugout and behind the scenes.
Now club captain, Fernandes has seen it all, winning two trophies for the club and is now a genuine contender to win the Premier League Player of the Season Award.
Fernandes has continued to excel under current head coach Michael Carrick, who was part of the Manchester United coaching staff when Fernandes joined Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Carrick even gave a glowing review of Fernandes after just two weeks working with him, back in 2020.
Bruno Fernandes is up there with United’s greats in the Premier League era
Do you think Bruno can get to 300 combined goals and assists for United?
What Michael Carrick first said about Bruno Fernandes
After Bruno Fernandes made his Manchester United debut against Wolves in 2020, Manchester United took a trip on a mid-season training camp in Spain, due to a fixture break.
This helped Fernandes to get to know his new teammates and the coaching staff, where he made a strong impression on Michael Carrick, then the assistant.
In an interview with MUTV on February 14 six years ago, Carrick gave Fernandes a glowing endorsement: “He’s an intelligent, smart lad and speaks great English so it’s been pretty seamless so far.”
Asked about Fernandes’ top qualities, Carrick continued to enthuse about the Portuguese midfielder.
“There’s so much to talk about, really. I think the main thing is his composure and quality on the ball.
“He sees a pass, he looks to play the pass and he can score goals. But it’s more that composure, understanding of the game and game intelligence really that I like the most about him, and I’m sure we’ll see plenty of that.”
Manchester United fans have seen ‘plenty’ from Fernandes in the following years, with the midfielder producing 200 goal contributions, and counting.
Carrick is now managing Fernandes, and benefitting from his ongoing brilliance.
We are calling it now… Bruno Fernandes should win Premier League Player of the Season 2025/26
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Why Bruno Fernandes was signed
Manchester United entertained the idea of signing Bruno Fernandes at the start of the 2019/20 season, but were not brave enough to make the move.
United were fortunate that Fernandes remained on the market, with a proposed move from Sporting to Tottenham falling through.
Paul Pogba’s injury that season exposed the team’s lack of creativity, with neither Jesse Lingard nor Andreas Pereira capable of delivering on a consistent basis.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was personally convinced to sign Fernandes after a personal scouting mission to see him in action.
He explained that it was the midfielder’s personality that won him over as well as his technical attributes.
Solskjaer told SkySports: “What impressed me most that day was his personality. We knew about his skills and qualities.
“If you follow him and watch him all the time [you notice] that he cares so much and wants to win, he had that fire in him. I thought, yep, that’s the character we need.”
United have not looked back. The club has a patchy transfer record in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, especially pre-Ineos, but this was a big decision we got right.
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