Midfielder Bruno Fernandes’ appointment as new Manchester United captain this summer after manager Erik ten Hag chose to take the armband away from Harry Maguire has been questioned after his side’s poor start to the season.
The disjointed performance that saw his side crumble to a 2-0 loss at Spurs on Saturday has invariably left the Dutch boss plenty to ponder right now. On top of this, it was confirmed on Monday that Mason Greenwood would be departing the club despite reports that the United boss had earlier been in favor of him being re-assimilated back into the first-team.
Now the spotlight has suddenly focused on his choice of skipper after Fernandes turned in an erratic display at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, first having fans spellbound with his sublime execution of a ‘rabona’ type cross, only to then head over the bar from point blank range minutes later.
The Portuguese star – who had served in that role on numerous occasions last season, including in the FA Cup final when Maguire wasn’t selected in the starting XI – was handed the armband this summer after Harry Maguire was stripped of the honor by the United boss.
Andy Townsend and Ally McCoist of talkSPORT are among those seemingly unimpressed with the call to make Fernandes skipper. Townsend, who skippered both Aston Villa and Ireland in his own playing career, actually even postured that Ten Hag possibly harbored an ulterior motive, saying, “A lot of clubs now, they make people captain because they want them to stay. They want to keep them there,” he said.
“I don’t think he (Fernandes) is captain’s material. Too many times now I see people given the armband, not because their the right man for the job, but because he’s the senior player, or the top man, or biggest asset.”
Former Rangers and Scotland striker McCoist is in full agreement with his co-pundit that Fernandes wasn’t cut from the same cloth as many of his predecessors.
“Brucey, Robson, Keano, these people are captains on merit,” was his assertion.
“They automatically got the armband because of the type of characters they were. I don’t see that with Bruno at all. He’s a talented player, yes of course, but when starts waving and flapping his arms around and pointing fingers at people – it’s a wonder he doesn’t get a mouthful from some of his teammates.”
McCoist further highlighted that United’s current issues run far deeper than who plays the role of skipper, adding that Ten Hag is currently struggling to secure more signings before the September 1 deadline and is seemingly needing to sell players before he can bring more through the door.
To this effect, Harry Maguire’s move to West Ham falling through has scuppered United’s pursuit of Bayern’s Benjamin Pavard, with the French 2018 World Cup winner now looking almost certain to join Inter Milan.