MANCHESTER United head coach Ruben Amorim feels the club would not be in their current mess if they had more players like Bruno Fernandes.
The United captain led from the front in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal at Old Trafford.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta admitted the Portuguese was “too clever for us and the referee” for the way he manipulated the positioning of his first-half free-kick to give him a better chance to put United in front.
Former United skipper Roy Keane might not be a fan given the manner in which the Irishman spoke of Fernandes on The Overlap podcast last week.
But Amorim wishes he had a few more like him.
“We need more Brunos, that is clear,” he said.
“It’s not just the quality and the character. He makes some mistakes but he is so decisive with and without the ball.
“He steps up all the time. He can show some frustration in some moments that can hurt him more than everyone. I understand that. He wants to win.
“But he is always available, can play in different positions and when we need a goal and an assist he is always there.”
Fernandes is now United’s top Premier League goalscorer this season with seven. His 12 in all competitions also puts him at the head of United’s scoring charts.
But it doesn’t end there.
In a United side that is 14th in the table, Fernandes has 14 goal involvements in the league. Unsurprisingly, that is more than anyone else.
But only Amad has more than Marcus Rashford’s five, which underlines how important the 30-year-old has been in keeping United away from getting in real trouble at the bottom of the table.
Since he made his United debut in February 2020, only Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (177) and Tottenham’s Son Heung-min (124) have been involved in more goals than Fernandes (109).
It is clear Amorim needs Fernandes in the short and medium term as he looks to improve results, while at the same time making United a more attractive team to watch.