Erik ten Hag has utilised Bruno Fernandes in several different midfield roles this season.
The Portugal international was previously known for pulling the strings in the final third for Manchester United, but he dazzled in a deep-lying position against Everton.
Fernandes, 28, has arguably been the best United signing since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 following his transfer from Sporting Lisbon.
However, at Sporting, Fernandes was renowned for playing multiple midfield roles as the team’s star player. It has been a similar story for him under Ten Hag.
Fernandes also had a brief spell out on the wing – but in those games he struggled to have an impact. Take the 7-0 defeat to Liverpool as an example.
Back in his usual role — No.10 — against Real Betis, Fernandes was back to his best as United beat the La Liga side 4-1 in the Europa League. That was when United legend Paul Scholes urged Ten Hag to never play his vice-captain out wide “ever again”.
Scholes told BT Sport, as quoted by The Mirror: “Some of the players who came in for criticism, Bruno especially, I thought he was brilliant in the centre of the pitch where we know that’s his best position.
“I hope we never see him in a wide area ever again on the football pitch because it’s not his strength, he was so good in the centre of that pitch dictating play.”
After watching Fernandes pull the strings from a deeper position in United’s 2-0 win over Everton on Saturday, Ten Hag told Match of the Day that Fernandes has been playing deeper in recent matches.
“I think [Fernandes] was brilliant but he was already playing brilliant over many games in a deeper role,” Ten Hag said, as per The Metro. “Not everyone was recognising but also even last week at Newcastle he was playing very well.
“Against Brentford played really well, today again, but I said he was definitely one of the best players, maybe the best player on the pitch, but we had more at a high level.”
Fernandes along with David de Gea have clocked up more minutes than any of their team-mates this season. That shows you how much trust Ten Hag has in the Portuguese Magnificio.
It should be noted that Fernandes has repaid Ten Hag for putting so much faith in him this season. With 10 goals and 12 assists to his name in all competitions, it is no wonder that the manager sees him as a leader by making him vice-captain.
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