Bruno Fernandes Sets Win-Every-Game Mandate as United Captain Enters New Season

Twenty-one assists. A Premier League record. Player of the Season honours across four major awards: Premier League, Manchester United, FWA, and PFA Players’ Player of the Year.

What drove the assist record

Bruno Fernandes emphasized that his league-leading 21 assists reflected not a change in his own play, but improved finishing from teammates. “I’ve said this many times: I don’t think it’s about my assists,” he stated. “I think it’s more about the player scoring the goals. If you look at my game, it hasn’t changed.”

He clarified that he has consistently ranked among the league’s top chance creators—what shifted last season was greater efficiency in front of goal by United’s forwards. “What I want is my strikers to score goals,” he added. “Obviously, if I have the chance to make that happen more often, I’ll be very happy with it—not because I would get the assist, but because they will get more goals.”

Role evolution under Carrick

Fernandes contrasted his responsibilities under interim head coach Michael Carrick with those under previous manager Ruben Amorim. Under Carrick, he played higher up the pitch, contributing to altered team dynamics. “The only thing that changed was that the position where I was playing was a little bit higher,” he explained. “Then, obviously, the dynamics of the team were also a little bit different because we were playing in a different system. That probably meant we had more people into the box and more options to pass in the last third.”

New midfield additions

With three new midfielders signed this summer, Fernandes assessed their potential contributions. Of Youri Tielemans, he noted: “I think he’s a player who brings us experience and calmness in the midfield. Someone who can pass the ball forward very quickly and find the spaces and the gaps for the players in front to have time on the ball and make the decisions a little bit easier for us.”

On Andrey Santos, he said: “He is someone very good at hunting the ball and giving it very quickly, passing forward and breaking lines. I think both of them, if I’m not mistaken, were two of the highest last season in the Premier League for passes that break lines.”

Rising academy talent

Fernandes singled out several young players—including Jack Fletcher, Tyler Fletcher, and Dan Gore—but focused particular attention on Shea Lacey. “I think Shea Lacey came with a very different mentality this season in terms of playing off the ball,” he observed. “It was one of the first things I said to him when I came back from vacation because I had to watch three games.”

Lacey operated in Fernandes’s usual role—a position demanding high work rate and emotional intelligence to cover space and support attackers. “He did that very well,” Fernandes affirmed. “Technical ability was never in doubt for him. He’s an exceptional player. He has some very good abilities.”

The midfielder revealed he had coached Lacey when the youngster was 14 and Fernandes was completing his coaching badges—a detail they now joke about together.

Personal growth as team catalyst

Asked about his ambitions for the upcoming campaign, Fernandes reiterated his commitment to continuous self-improvement. “I want to be a better version of myself every year that goes through my career,” he said. “My aim is always to do as much as I can to improve my game and myself, because that’s the only way I can improve the team and help them become more successful.”

He opened the conversation with a clear competitive standard: “For me, it’s about winning every game. I don’t want less than that. Every game we’re involved in, we want to win it. We don’t see it any other way. I think this club can look that way, and as a group of players, I think we have the ability to go into every game and face everyone with no fear.”