da roleta： The captain is the Red Devils' best player and biggest character but he does not naturally fit into the coach's long-term vision for the team

da pinnacle： Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim might not be winning games but he is not shy of confronting the club's problems head-on. After declaring with all seriousness after the woeful defeat by Newcastle that his team are in a relegation battle, this week he decided to highlight the lack of leaders within his squad.

Amorim brought the subject up while announcing a new contract for Harry Maguire, who was stripped of the captaincy by Erik ten Hag in 2023. The Portuguese coach has told the defender he needs to "improve as a leader", which sounded like an odd thing to say of a player who has admirably fought his way back into the team after Ten Hag tried to sell him to West Ham. And it begged the question: what about the leadership of Bruno Fernandes, the man who took the armband off him?

Fernandes divides opinion like few other players. Many United fans see him as one of the most outstanding players in the squad, an all-action hero who has prevented the Red Devils from sinking yet further into the abyss since joining from Sporting CP five years ago. To those who defend him, the Portuguese has had to carry the team on the back for the bulk of his time at Old Trafford and is the last person to blame for their current status as they sit 14th in the Premier League table, just seven points above the relegation zone.

To his detractors, he is the source of the club's many ills, prone to theatrics, waving his arms around and moaning when things don't go his way, giving the ball away too often and losing his head, such as getting sent off three times in the first half of this season. With United in their lowest moment in the 21st century and on Sunday heading to a formidable Liverpool side who have won four of their last seven league meetings with their arch rivals, scoring 22 goals against them, it is time to ask whether Fernandes is the right man to lead United out of their current mire and spearhead Amorim's project.

Getty Images'Liability with no mental toughness'

Fernandes missed last season's trip to Anfield due to suspension and would have missed Sunday's game after getting sent off for a second time this season in the league against Wolves on Boxing Day and for the third time in all competitions, but for the fact his previous red card against Tottenham was overturned. The Portuguese will have harrowing memories of playing at Liverpool's home, where United were thrashed 4-0 in 2022 and humiliated 7-0 in 2023, with Fernandes being made the scapegoat of the latter.

The Portuguese has vigorously denied Gary Neville's claims that he asked to be substituted during that game but the image of him waving his arms around in despair as United kept on conceding has remained in the minds of many of his critics, such as Graeme Souness. "He just threw the towel in, walking around pointing fingers at his team-mates, shrugging shoulders," the former Liverpool player and manager wrote in last month.

"His actions at Anfield showed me where his mental toughness was, nowhere. And that's my point, just having ability isn't enough to be a top player, he needs to show mental toughness, discipline and workrate when you're up against it and that's certainly what United are at the moment. You want your captain, your leader, to be setting an example for everyone in that dressing room, that is why you pick him as your captain because he leads by example. What example does he set for Kobbie Mainoo, Amad Diallo and Alejandro Garnacho, young players all making their way in the game?

"I think he has become a liability for Manchester United. He has undoubted talent and he will be thinking he should be playing for the very best teams out there but he is not and he is showing negativity which will be damaging to those around him – as with the sending-off against Wolves."

AdvertisementGetty The best creator in the squad

Fernandes' gesticulating might wind certain people up but he has other traits that make him an inspirational captain to his team-mates. Take his commitment to playing practically every match and his high pain threshold, which saw him play in last season's FA Cup tie at Nottingham Forest with what Ten Hag described as a "serious injury", and against Tottenham the year before, days after he was seen wearing a leg brace in the aftermath of the FA Cup semi-final against Brighton.

"Bruno is a very good example for many other players. He is a real fighter," Ten Hag said last May. "Last year when we played Brighton in the [FA Cup] semi-final, he played with an ankle that was so thick. It was unbelievable. He couldn’t run but he was still on the pitch. He is always available, always delivers and always gives energy to the team."

The captain has also shown leadership off the pitch, such as offering to pay staff's travel and accommodation to the 2024 FA Cup final after Sir Jim Ratcliffe withdrew funding as part of his many cost-cutting measures. But most of all, Fernandes shows leadership by being the team's chief creator. Even in a season as dismal as this one, he has six goals and 10 assists in all competitions. He has contributed to more goals than any other player and he would have far more had his team-mates shown more composure in front of goal.

Fernandes created 99 chances in 2024, making him the most creative player in the Premier League, with Cole Palmer just behind with 97.

GettyAll hell breaks loose without him

Another argument in Fernandes' favour is to simply look at what happens to United on the rare occasions he is unavailable. The captain was suspended for one of the worst results in Ten Hag's first season, when United were beaten 3-0 by Sevilla to exit the Europa League in the quarter-finals.

He missed last season's trip to Crystal Palace with a wrist problem, the first time in his career he had missed a game due to injury. And all hell broke loose, as United were trounced 4-0 in their worst performance of the season, if not of the whole Ten Hag era. Fernandes' importance to Amorim has also been underlined in the last two games. The score was 0-0 when he was sent off early in the second half at Wolves before succumbing to a 2-0 defeat with 10 men.

He was subsequently suspended for the last game at Newcastle, which was one of United's worst first-half displays in the Premier League era. His replacement for the game, Joshua Zirkzee, was ruthlessly hauled off in the first half while the midfield was severely lacking intensity as Casemiro and Christian Eriksen had rings run around them by Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali.

GettyOne of the few characters around

United really missed Fernandes' passion against Newcastle and in his absence there was no one else to look to. That should not have been the case with the likes of multiple Champions League winner Casemiro and World Cup winner Lisandro Martinez on the pitch, but neither of them looked up for the fight.

Those two players were probably on Amorim's mind when he said his side were "starving for leaders on the pitch". He added: "If you want to be a top, top team you have to be leaders and we have that in the dressing room. But they have to step up." If United do indeed get dragged into an unthinkable relegation battle as Amorim has warned they might be, then they will desperately need Fernandes to be available, because there is a serious lack of big personalities elsewhere in the squad.

In other words, Fernandes is vital to stop United sliding ever deeper into the abyss in the short term. And yet there is an argument that he is preventing United from making real progress and that it might be in the club's long-term interests to sell him. Fernandes is one of the few players in the squad who could garner a hefty transfer fee to alleviate United's financial problems, which are likely to get even worse as the prospect of qualifying for the Champions League, or indeed any European competition next season, fade further with each defeat.