Earlier this season, Bruno Fernandes came under fire from pundits and Manchester United fans alike. Many were questioning whether he had a long-term future under Erik ten Hag, despite having signed a contract extension last season.
One of his most vocal critics was Gabby Agbonlahor. Following defeats at the hands of Brentford and Brighton, the former Aston Villa striker criticised Fernandes heavily and claimed that the 28-year-old came across as the "worst teammate" due to his body language.
Agbonlahor said on talkSPORT back in August: "For me, Fernandes, since he's been in the Premier League, yes, he's had great stats, goalscoring and assists but he looks like the worst teammate. Every time a player gives it away, every time he gives it away, he throws his arms up at his teammates, he throws his arms up at the bench.
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"I've played with players like him, you'd be fuming at him. He'll press now and then. If that was Paul Pogba they would be slaughtering Pogba in the media. Fernandes gets away with murder. Did you see Fernandes do anything? It's easy to say [Harry] Maguire, [Cristiano] Ronaldo, [Marcus] Rashford, [Jadon] Sancho."
But in recent weeks, Fernandes has proved Agbonlahor wrong. In Maguire's absence, the Portugal international was named United captain, and fans have commented on how the mentality of the squad has been stronger during his time as captain.
His individual performances have also improved. He has scored two goals in the Premier League including a stunning strike against Southampton, and against Sheriff Tiraspol his ball into the box led to Ronaldo's goal which ensured there would be no late fightback from the visitors.
Fernandes is an inflammatory character. He is incredibly passionate and sometimes that may rub people up the wrong way, but since he came to United he has only been a positive when he has played.
Yes, he can still improve in some areas; many fans have noticed that he plays like a clock is counting down every time United have the ball and needs to slow down. But you'd hope under Ten Hag he will start to move away from this and fans will have seen noticed him making recent progress in this regard.
Only time will tell whether Fernandes will retain the captaincy if Maguire returns to the starting XI while Raphael Varane is injured, but even if he loses the armband he will still remain a leader on the pitch.
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