Ian Wright believes that Bruno Fernandes' long-term future at Manchester United could be in jeopardy - as Erik ten Hag is unlikely to tolerate the petulant behaviour that the Portuguese playmaker showcased in Sunday's humiliating 7-0 defeat against Liverpool.
Fernandes has been heavily criticised for displaying negative body language at Anfield and has also come under fire for appearing to feign injury following a clash with Ibrahima Konate and for pushing a linesman.
The 28-year-old once again donned the captain's armband in the absence of Harry Maguire and has since faced calls to be removed form his role as vice-captain. Mirror Football understands that Ten Hag currently has no plans to do so - but there are plenty of pundits who believe that Fernandes should not represent Manchester United in a leadership capacity going forward.
Wright is another former Premier League great who was less than enthused with Fernandes' Anfield antics - and he is adamant that Fernandes' behaviour does not align with the no-nonsense approach that Ten Hag has adopted since succeeding interim boss Ralf Rangnick in the summer.
The Dutchman's strict methods have helped Manchester United recover from a calamitous 2021/22 campaign: the club ended a six-year trophy drought last weekend and are still in contention to win both the FA Cup and the Europa League.
Fernandes has been a key performer for Manchester United this season and has even started to show shades of the form that saw him quickly establish as one of the club's key players following his move from Sporting Lisbon in 2020.
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But given that Ten Hag has already shown that he has no appetite to accommodate poor behaviour following the saga that eventually saw Cristiano Ronaldo leave the club back in November, Wright believes Fernandes' days at Old Trafford could be numbered.
The former Arsenal striker told Premier League Productions: "When you look at the capitulation of the team it’s a reflection of the captain. When I saw Bajetic go past him and he stopped that was the last straw because when you look at his histrionics he’s someone who wouldn’t last [in the dressing rooms he played in].
"The captain is a special person in there. When you watch someone like Roy Keane, a performance like that must hurt him deeply with what he’s had to go through to get to that accolade, to see a Man United captain do that playing as if he’s got the world on his shoulders and not inspiring his teammates to try and salvage something.
"To see the captain like that, he cannot be… the way Ten Hag has setting that team up he doesn’t fit in the mold of Ten Hag and how he wants his team to go forward."
