Getty Images SportAlmost seven years at Manchester United, the club's undisputed number one star, and Bruno Fernandes now faces a decisive moment that could end his era as playmaker and figurehead.
His display against Leeds was lacklustre, more proof of a striking statistical decline. With his favoured number 10 role under threat, the signs increasingly point to Fernandes standing on the brink of a transitional phase with the Red Devils.
An article in the "Daily Mail" written by Chris Wheeler asks whether the time has come for Bruno Fernandes to give up his role as Manchester United's "number one man".
The writer sees the display against Leeds United as his season in miniature. Opposition fans turned on him with hostile chants after a violent tackle on Tariq Marmoush earned him an early yellow card.
Fernandes has made little tangible impact in most of United's 10 matches this season. His four goals and solitary assist arrived in the only two wins, against Ipswich Town and Azerbaijani side "Sabah" in the Champions League at Old Trafford, two of the easiest fixtures on the schedule.
Compare that to the campaign in which he swept both the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) and Football Writers' Association (FWA) Player of the Year awards. Back then he scored 9 goals and provided 21 assists, a Premier League record. His level has dropped noticeably since.
Michael Carrick's tactical reshuffle tells the same story. The coach has been forced to shift Fernandez out of the playmaker role, the number 10 slot he owned for years.
Against Atletico Madrid in midweek, Fernandez lined up on the right wing. That freed Youri Tielemans to push forward into the number 10 role, and the Belgian did enough to keep the shirt against Leeds. Fernandez, meanwhile, started on the left and swapped positions with Bryan Mbeumo up front.
Tielemans has earned the right to start against Como in the Champions League. Cunha offers another option in the number 10 role, though he too has had to adapt around Fernandez.
Carrick insists Fernandez remains "an important part of the team". The noise around him only grows louder.
United's management were open to selling Bruno Fernandes last year, when Saudi club Al-Hilal tabled a bid of 100 million pounds sterling plus a vast personal fortune for the player.
Galatasaray came calling this season and offered to double his wages. Fernandes chose to stay, showing loyalty to a club no closer to challenging for the Premier League title than it was when he arrived from Sporting Lisbon in January 2020.
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The writer noted that it would be unfortunate if Fernandes left Old Trafford having won only the FA Cup and the League Cup. That might be all he can achieve.
He continued: "With Bruno Fernandes's contract (aged 32) nearing its end next June, and with the club holding an option to extend it for a further 12 months, talks over a new deal have begun, but there are no indications of an agreement being reached soon, which raises the question: at his current level, will Manchester United really want to renew his contract?".
He went on: "In a summer that saw United let go of Casemiro but fail to find a buyer for Marcus Rashford, would it have been better to offload the other player (Bruno) with the high salary, especially with Tielemans joining? Time will reveal the truth".
He concluded: "Fernandes's distinguished record shows that his dip in form is temporary, and it will not be long before he proves the doubters wrong. Tielemans's command of the playmaker role will not last long, and Fernandes will soon return to pull the strings as he always does. But the longer this situation continues, the sharper the questions become, and the more people wonder whether one of the few great careers at Manchester United in the post-Ferguson era is nearing its end".
