“I can’t work with him as my club’s captain and here is why”: Man United’s new coach Ruben Amorim has revealed why he can’t Bruno Fernandes as his club’s captain, names his successor immediately

Manchester United supporters have not found this season to be particularly pleasurable, to say it mildly.
For the second consecutive season, Erik ten Hag directed the team to their most disastrous start in Premier League history. Although he was not particularly well-liked by the conclusion of the season, the act of losing one’s manager is never a pleasant experience.

Nevertheless, interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy has, it appears, stabilised the situation for the prospective manager, Ruben Amorim. There are now legitimate reasons to be optimistic about the club’s short- and long-term future.

Even players who were significantly underperforming at the beginning of the season are beginning to resemble their former selves, such as Bruno Fernandes. However, the former Sporting CP manager may choose to replace the Red Devils’ captain before the start of the next season in order to begin his tenure with a clean slate.

The inquiry regarding Bruno Fernandes

First and foremost, Fernandes is an incredibly gifted footballer who, on his best day, is arguably world-class. Nevertheless, this is the crux of the matter; as numerous United supporters will likely attest, their captain has not had a particularly successful season.

For instance, the Portuguese firebrand achieved an extraordinary feat of 15 goals and 13 assists in 48 appearances last season, which translates to an average of a goal involvement every 1.71 games. Notably, none of these involvements occurred in the League Cup.

In contrast, his overall tally of four goals and seven assists in 17 games this season appears impressive; however, it is immediately diminished when one of his goals and two of his assists were scored in League Cup matches against Barnsley and Leicester City, and another goal was scored against PAOK in the Europa League.

Additionally, prior to Van Nistelrooy’s appointment, it was not uncommon for United journalists to request that Ten Hag be removed from the starting lineup, as he was unable to provide a significant amount of forward momentum and had inexplicably been sent off in consecutive games.

Finally, the Maia-born international is now approaching the age of 30, and with Amorim at the helm and Sir Jim Ratcliffe in the boardroom, it appears that a significant reconstruction effort is necessary, in addition to the fact that he has only recently begun to perform since the dismissal of the former manager.

Consequently, it would be prudent for United to determine the value of Fernandes in 2025 and utilise the proceeds to acquire a former target to replace him, a target who appears to have a promising future.

United’s prospective successor to Fernandes

Therefore, who is this gifted youth who was previously associated with United and has the potential to succeed Fernandes? However, it is the current loan sensation of RB Leipzig and wonderkid of Paris Saint-Germain, Xavi Simons.

A few months ago, he was rumoured to be on the verge of a €100 million (£83 million) transfer to Old Trafford, among other Premier League teams. Although the deal never materialised, Ratcliffe and his team should be back in the market for the youthful talent next year.

It is undeniably a substantial sum of money for a 21-year-old, but he has demonstrated to the footballing community that he has the potential to become one of the sport’s next attacking superstars in recent years. Although some may argue that his performances on the wing are the reason he was unable to replace the United captain, there is no need for concern.

Despite the fact that the “complete” Amsterdam-born star, as he was labelled by former comrade Dani Olmo, has made 50 appearances on the left in his career, he has also made 29 in attacking midfield and 28 off the right.

Consequently, he is more than capable of performing in any position, including the current one occupied by the former Sporting sensation.