Some Manchester United players believe that teammate Bruno Fernandes has a ‘wasteful’ approach, as issues continue to emerge from the Red Devils' dressing room.
The Portuguese playmaker was at fault for United’s 1-0 loss to Crystal Palace on Sunday. After receiving the ball from a throw-in, the midfielder played a no-look pass over his shoulder aimlessly towards his central defenders.
Palace star Wilfried Zaha then latched on to the pass before driving at the United defence, cutting onto his right foot and fizzing a shot past a helpless David De Gea. But Fernandes’ clumsiness won’t come as a surprise to his teammates, it appears.
Manchester Evening News report that several United stars have agreed that Fernandes’ wasteful approach is a ‘problem’. The midfielder scored 10 and assisted six this season, but he struggled to have the impact that he has had in campaigns gone by – going missing when his team needed him most.
The issue coming to light only highlights the fractures at United that new manager Erik ten Hag must repair. The report goes on to state that players felt that captain Harry Maguire ‘was not good enough’ as the issues behind the scenes at Old Trafford multiplied week on week as the team continued to self-destruct.
Reuniting the dressing room will certainly be one of Ten Hag’s priorities upon arrival, and also waving goodbye to the ‘bad eggs’ amongst the squad that are unhappy. Plenty of new signings are expected to arrive at The Theatre of Dreams over the coming months, with reports circulating that acquiring a defender, central midfielder and striker are all of equal importance.
Jesse Lingard, Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic are amongst those departing before Ten Hag arrives, with their contracts expiring this summer. But Ten Hag seems entirely focused on next season rather than dwelling on the team’s sixth-placed finish.
The former Ajax boss hinted that he even thinks the team could become title contenders quicker than many expect, saying: “The season before, this squad finished second, so it has the potential.
“I think if we improve, if we can work with them, we can get more out of them than this season. First of all, we want to make the fans proud. Second, of course at this moment the current situation is obviously not that good. It’s a big challenge. I want to build a team who are battling for each other, who are unified and who will get results.
“Also we are playing in the Theatre of Dreams. We want to entertain. The intention is to play fantastic football. If we can’t play fantastic football, we still have to win.”
