Is Bruno Fernandes The Premier League’s Best Player?

Bruno Fernandes has just wrapped up yet another double goal contribution game week

He is the most informed player in the league, but why? Today I'll be exploring how Carrick's system got him back to his best

his unstoppable final third threat, and most importantly, why these Bruno Fernandes performances

shouldn't actually come as a surprise. I'm Jacob Horsfall, 442's resident tactician

and this is how Bruno Fernandes became the best player in the Premier League. to get to the genius of this 2025-26 version of bruno fernandez we first got to have a little bit

of context manchester united over the past few years have been a club constantly in transition

with nothing clicking they had all this incredible talent but it just wasn't working like you had

genuine star quality in people like bruno fernandez and you had the potential there in players like

kobi mainu and benjamin sesko but there was this feeling especially under ruben amram that this

team was just never going to work. The attacks were never going to be threatening. They were never going to be reliable in the final third or in possession. Under the Portuguese Gaffard

Bruno was in a midfield too, receiving the ball from the centre-backs and strictly operating

in these sort of areas of the pitch. This meant he was regularly in possession, taking 81 touches

per 90 and completing 59 passes per 90. He'd regularly get on the ball with his back to

pressure, drawing opponents in. He could either then play a safe backwards pass or attempt to

transform United's stable possession into a serious attack with a pass that Bruno loves to do

with something very progressive, an outrageous ball basically. However, as great as it is him

having lots of the ball and taking loads of touches, do you really want him taking lots of

touches or do you want Bruno Fernandes taking valuable touches? This is Bruno's passers receive

network under Ruben Amram. He's operating well, well behind the attacking front line which means

he's very rarely involved with that attacking front line which, let's be honest, is a bit of

an interesting way to profile the best number 10 in world football and that's

exactly what he is which is why Carrick changed it instantly Instead of Bruno operating in a two Carrick moved him straight back into that number 10 position with the autonomy to float Freely across the pitch under Carrick There been a 51 increase in the chances created by Bruno Fernandes

Even though he's taken seven less touches per 90 than he was under Ruben Amorim

But the key is the touches he's taken on dangerous areas in areas in the opposition's half where we can cause damage and slip players through on goal

Personally, I would rather Bruno Fernandes be taking minimal touches and but making them valuable touches

because that's all he needs about five or six valuable touches and he can cause damage but

Bruno isn't just a number 10 not in Michael Carrick's player profiling of him and also

not in Bruno's nature Diogo Delo inverts centrally here which allows Bruno Fernandes to drift a little

bit wider and even a little bit deeper to get on the ball and then supply a magical cross into the

box and that's the goal other players moving around to get Bruno Fernandes in space in dangerous

areas where he can do things which has been apparent all season three of sesco's last six

goals have been assisted by a bruno fernandez cross i mean a pretty large center forward

with one of the best playmakers in world football i mean it's probably going to result in goals isn't

it however people seem to use this as a way to actually criticize bruno fernandez they use his

crushing as a way to almost knock down and put him down a peg for his playmaking i mean nine of

his assists have come from set pieces this season. So you may be thinking, well, yes

he is a creative threat, but he's someone who relies on heavily favourable situations

Ones in which United already have the box rammed with players and he has multiple targets to

actually fire the ball at. Well, ladies and gentlemen, I'm here to tell you that you would

be wrong. Exhibit A, this graphic from Monday Night Football, which shows Bruno Fernandes as

the greatest chance creator in the Premier League. He has created 40 more chances this season than

Second best in Declan rice exhibit B he six top of the league for expected assists well above Ryan Shirky in seconds

Exhibit C no player has more key passes per 90 or more assists via through balls Dan Bruno Fernandes does this season so he isn just Relying on set pieces is he No he doing it in every single type of scenario you could possibly imagine

Bruno is just a creative freak. He spent large majority of this season playing in zones that you'd associate with a number six

which is probably why his assists do directly correlate with set pieces

When your pass map under Ruben Amrim shows you playing into the final third from the halfway line, into the final third

even from your own half, is it really a surprise that, yes

you are creating your best chances from set-piece scenarios when you can be in the final third

No, I don't think it is. But that's no longer a worry. His post-amoring pass map, as mental as that sounds, shows a much healthier picture

He's rarely even playing any passes in the first third of the pitch, and instead, we see him playing almost all of his passes in each part of the opposition's half

whether it's their box, on the half waylining their half, or in the wide areas

He's no longer slumming it out in the first phase. He's now given the freedom and autonomy to operate in all three-thirds of the pitch

Which means we get Bruno Fernandes at his very best now There is something that does leave me a little bit puzzle with Bruno and that's people being surprised

That he's playing this well this season like he's been world-class for a lot longer than the last three months of football in Bruno's last

five seasons He's hit double-digit assists in every single one of them

The only knock that you could have on Bruno was that he was high risk someone who would give the ball away often because he was trying things. But what critics didn't

understand and what Carrick's really encouraged from Bruno Fernandes is that, well, you have to

play those high-risk passes to actually cause damage, to actually be effective as a main creator

in a team. When United come up against these organised low blocks, you can't just pass sideways

and hope eventually a gap magically opens. You need a player who will try the impossible pass

You can fire a ball through a sea of bodies, the man who sees the pass that no one else sees

which is exactly what Bruno Fernandes does for United. When a player receives UCI looking at a Ram box you wouldn be annoyed at them if they decide to play backwards or even take a touch and just recycle play But no Bruno Fernandes sees three players at the back post who have an overload on that back post on the Liverpool players

And then pings a perfect ball in into that area, which gives United the maximum opportunity to score a goal

I struggle to see any other player in the current Premier League even seeing that pass

Never mind being able to execute it. Burnley have six players protecting their box, but we also have Bruno Fernandes in the half space

where he's back to the opposition's goal. He then receives the ball, opens up his body instantly, which drags two Burnley defenders towards him

but then he takes his next touch, and that next touch is a pass in behind to Benjamin Sesko

Because he plays it so quickly, the Burnley defenders can't actually get anywhere near him

The bravery he's shown in possession at Manchester United over the years that he's been there

is exactly what makes him world-class. The sheer volume of incredible chances that he creates is just ridiculous

Since his debut, no player has created more chances in the Premier League than Bruno Fernandes

Even Kevin De Bruyne is miles away from him. And Kevin De Bruyne rightfully is regarded as one of the best creative minds on a pitch in modern football history

So why can't Bruno be considered in the same way? The record-breaking numbers may be the headline for Bruno Fernandes

But the real story is line splitting passes, balls into the box that no one can handle

and every moment of leadership, of a fist pump on the pitch, that gets this United team rallied and going again

For years, people have asked who is the best player in the Premier League

Was it Declan Rice? Is it Gabriel? Is it Erling Haaland? Well, this season, for me, it's Bruno Fernandes

So, do you agree? Is Bruno Fernandes the best that the Premier League has to offer? I want to know what you guys think, so let me know down in the comments

and if you want to see more deep dives into your favourite players your favourite systems

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we'll be here again next week for another episode with 442 and again

I'll see you all next week said a bit