Bruno Fernandes’ transfer to Manchester United in 2020 raised a few eyebrows for some people. The Portuguese league is unknown to the majority of the Old Trafford support but his numbers were, however, very impressive.
The 27-year-old, who will celebrate his two-year anniversary at the club in three months, instantly became Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s number-one in midfield and has taken to the Premier League like a duck to water.
Fernandes is rarely rested and plays even the minor Carabao Cup games, which also shows Solskjaer’s reliance on the Portugal international. Whether that’s a good or bad thing is a topic for another discussion.
One statistic, as relayed by the Manchester Evening News below, shows that Fernandes has been Europe’s most productive midfielder since the start of the 2017-18 season, over four years ago.
📈 Most goal/assist contributions by a midfielder in Europe in the last 5 seasons:
🇩🇰 16/17 – Christian Eriksen – 36
🤝 17/18 – Bruno & Coutinho – 36
🇵🇹 18/19 – Bruno Fernandes – 50
🇵🇹 19/20 – Bruno Fernandes – 49
🇵🇹 20/21 – Bruno Fernandes – 45Undeniably world-class 🙌 #MUFC pic.twitter.com/5g3hCLpiHL
— Man United News (@ManUtdMEN) October 14, 2021
Read more: Manchester United star ready to leave the club in January – report
His tally of 36 goals and assists in the 2017-18 season is only matched by Philippe Coutinho and since then, he has been the sole custodian of the crown each season.
His lowest tally of 45 goals and assists in one season was last season and that alone speaks volumes about the type of midfielder Fernandes is.
Despite having only completed one full season for Manchester United, there are already rumblings of a new contract being in the pipeline for Fernandes. Journalist and transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano claimed that his extension was getting ‘really close’ last month.
