Erik ten Hag believes Bruno Fernandes can thrive in his new deeper position in Manchester United's midfield.
Since arriving at Old Trafford, the Portuguese’s goal scoring prowess has been relied upon, finding the net 36 times in his first two-and-a-half Premier League seasons. He has five this time around, but has been tasked with doing a lot more work which can go unnoticed.
Fernandes has also been tasked with leading the team, taking the armband from Harry Maguire, who has struggled to hold down a regular place. His captaincy skills have come under the microscope however, following United’s embarrassing 7-0 loss at Liverpool last week.
The ex-Sporting midfielder was slammed by United legend Gary Neville following the debacle at Anfield. "I think some of his behaviour in the second half has been a disgrace,” he said during commentary.
"The second-half has been an absolute disgrace, a shambles. They have not been epitomised more than Bruno Fernandes, who has been embarrassing - a shambles - in this game.”
Off the back of that, there were calls for him to be stripped of the captaincy, with Ten Hag quickly dismissing that as an option. Asked if he would be staying as skipper, the United boss said: "Yes, definitely.
“I think he is playing a brilliant season and he has played a big role in us being where we are. Everyone makes mistakes and we learn. I have to learn and he will as well.
"No one is perfect, everyone makes mistakes. "He is intelligent. I'm really pleased he is our player and he is captain when Harry (Maguire) is not playing."
He backed up his manager’s belief with a strong performance in the Europa League which was capped with a goal. Fernandes remained as captain for their Premier League return, for the clash with Southampton at Old Trafford.
He was deployed in a deeper-lying role against the Saints, with Ten Hag believing he has all the attributes to thrive alongside Casemiro. “We have seen on Thursday night how good Bruno was acting in that position [deeper in midfield], so he's really intelligent and can play that role,” Ten Hag explained before the match.
"Now he [Fernandes] has to do it again. Bruno has a wide range of ground to cover, he has a lot of energy and he likes to do it. It's difficult to defend for opponents when we have that dynamic in the midfield. Bruno will not always be in a deep role, he will also be arriving in goalscoring positions or creative positions."
His extra responsibilities were only increased during the first-half against Southampton after Casemiro was given a straight red card. The Brazilian was given his marching orders for a shocking tackle on Carlos Alcaraz, with Scott McTominay replacing Weghorst to shore up the midfield.
