Bruno Fernandes, who was named PFA Player of the Year for 2025-26 only seven weeks ago, has started this season far below the standard that earned him the award. The Manchester United captain has three goals and one assist in six Premier League games, and his numbers raise questions about whether he is causing United’s poor start or suffering from it.
Fernandes won the Premier League and Football Writers’ versions of the award too, recognising his huge contribution to United’s unexpected third-place finish. He scored nine goals and claimed 21 assists, breaking a Premier League record jointly held by Thierry Henry and Kevin de Bruyne.
Over the final 11 games of last season, Fernandes either scored or created 12 of the 21 goals United netted. In the seven-game run that returned United to Europe’s elite club competition after a two-year absence, the 31-year-old was involved in nine of their 12 goals. Statistically, it was remarkable, reminiscent of Eric Cantona in the 1995-96 title-winning campaign, when he scored in six successive games, five of them when United scored only once.
“It was a special season for me,” Fernandes told an appreciative audience at the award ceremony. “I am very proud.
“But we don’t play tennis. We don’t play just for ourselves. We play for a team, we play for a club, we play for the fans. There is nothing more special than that.”
Those words carry particular weight now, because this season’s figures are far less impressive.
A dip in output
Fernandes has played every minute of United’s six Premier League games. His three goals and one assist all came in the second game of the campaign, a 3-1 win over Ipswich, which remains United’s only league victory so far. The numbers are better than last term, when he scored twice in the opening six games and created nothing. However, he was then playing in the deeper midfield role that Ruben Amorim preferred.
This season, Fernandes is averaging 3.3 shots per game, his second-highest figure, though his best was 3.5 in 2020-21. His average of 0.8 shots on target is joint-second lowest. His chance creation, at 2.5 per game, is the second lowest of his time at Old Trafford and well down on the 4.0 he managed last season. He has created just one big chance so far, the lofted pass that sent Bryan Mbeumo clear of the Ipswich defence on 30 August. He averaged one per game last season.
These figures help explain why United have collected just six points from their opening six games, their worst league start in 40 years, when Ron Atkinson was sacked to make way for Sir Alex Ferguson.
Fitness and form
There is also uncertainty over Fernandes’ fitness. He rarely misses games, but he was left out of the recent Nations League match against Norway, and national team boss Jorge Jesus said the playmaker was “playing through pain”. He was fit enough to return for the final two internationals of the break, and he played the full 90 minutes in the 4-0 Champions League win over Azerbaijani champions Sabah FK.
United manager Michael Carrick does not see it as a problem as he prepares his side for Atletico Madrid on Tuesday. “He was carrying something but that happens a lot,” Carrick said. “Players play with issues. It’s not ideal but it is manageable. Bruno is able to play. That is the commitment he has got.
“He is pretty much over it, was really bright in training this morning and is looking forward to the game.”
The missing support
At the end of last season, when Fernandes was at his most prolific, Benjamin Sesko was a regular in the number nine role, and veteran Brazilian Casemiro anchored the midfield. Of the nine league goals Sesko has scored in 2026, Fernandes created four. He also set up four of the final five goals Casemiro scored for United from 1 February onwards.
The absence of Sesko and Casemiro is now clearly being felt. Casemiro left for Inter Miami in the summer, but his positioning and game knowledge were of a high standard, and they gave Fernandes the freedom to take risks, knowing United would not be overrun on the counter-attack if he lost the ball. Sesko’s fresh shin injury extends a lack of involvement that has no end date yet.
The club did not bring in more striking support over the summer, despite calls for it, and instead reinforced Carrick’s midfield. A plan to cover Sesko’s initial absence by using Mbeumo as a number nine was scrapped when Amad Diallo suffered an ankle injury just before the opening game at Hull. Matheus Cunha was given the role instead, but he repeatedly dropped deep into the space Fernandes was occupying, and the pair never found an effective way of dealing with it.
For Fernandes, it feels restrictive. He is not a player who lacks confidence, but his decision-making appears to be suffering. Against Tottenham at the weekend, it took him an incredible 23 minutes to complete a pass.
On Monday, Carrick said no one was “guaranteed” a place in his team, but he added enough caveats to suggest that leaving out his captain is not in his thinking. United must improve, and that means Fernandes must improve too.
“He’s a top player, Bruno,” Carrick said. “Sometimes things don’t quite go for you. Sometimes you have a spell of that.
“But he’s done some incredible things for this football club and he will do the same in the future, there’s no doubt about that.”