Key Bruno Fernandes stat highlights Man United’s top priority as transfer deadline looms
Manchester United were held to a disappointing 1-1 draw away at Fulham with one stat revealing a key weakness in Ruben Amorim’s side.
United started the game brightly, with new signing Matheus Cunha having two efforts on goal within the opening 15 minutes of the game, one being well saved by Bernd Leno.
Bruno Fernandes saw a penalty sail high over the bar and that was more or less all she wrote for Amorim’s side besides the own goal that gave them the lead.
Fernandes played in the deeper midfield pairing that we’ve become accustomed to seeing him play in, after the arrivals of Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo in the summer, and it was the Portuguese’s lapse in concentration that left Emile Smith-Rowe free to poke home Fulham’s leveller.
After the match, one damning stat has revealed just how urgently one position needs to be strengthened ahead of next week’s transfer deadline.
Bruno Fernandes has an off day as glaring need further reveals itself
It was a rare off day for Fernandes, but it does make it two substandard performances from two games this season, and once again the midfield balanced seemed off.
According to Fotmob data, only Fernandes is the only midfielder in the top five of distance covered so far this season for United.
Fernandes is second with 11 kilometres, level with left wing-back Patrick Dorgu, but the next closest midfielder is Casemiro at 7.6km.
Of further concern is how these numbers face up against United’s Premier League rivals, with 28 players having ran further than the Red Devils pair so far across the first 19 games of the fledgling Premier League season.
It is worth caveating with the suggestion that these are early days, but United’s lack of athleticism and ground covered in midfield is an ongoing concern from last season.
Ruben Amorim needs an athletic midfielder, but should Man United target one closer to home?
Football Insider verdict
Much was made about United’s poor athletic presence throughout the squad when Amorim took over from Erik Ten Hag in November 2024.
The business of bringing in Dorgu, Mbeumo, Cunha, and Benjamin Sesko seems like a conscious decision to raise the athletic floor of this side, but the position it is most needed in Amorim’s system is still baron of any additions.
The club have pursued a move for Brighton’s Carlos Baleba, and have monitored the situations of Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton, Stuttgart’s Angelo Stiller and Sevilla’s Lucien Agoume.
| Player | Distance covered per 90(km) |
| Carlos Baleba | 6 |
| Adam Wharton | 5.2 |
| Angelo Stiller | 11.3 |
Finances are notoriously tight at Old Trafford, and an inability to move on from Amorim’s ‘bomb squad’ has meant arrivals are limited for a team in desperate need of instant impact players.
One midfielder who may be able to solve some of the short term headaches for Amorim is Kobbie Mainoo, who is yet to play a minute in the Premier League yet this season.
It is a curious case for a young player who burst onto the scene two seasons ago, with his composure on the ball catching the eye.
Amorim said the 20-year-old is currently competing for a place in the lineup with Fernandes, but sooner rather than later the Portuguese head coach may have to roll the dice and throw Mainoo into the mix, with or without his club captain.