SOUNESS TELLS MAN UTD BOSS TEN HAG TO TAKE EXTREME ACTION AS RED DEVILS STAR ‘CAN’T CHANGE’
Graeme Souness has hinted that Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag should strip the Red Devils captaincy from Bruno Fernandes as he won’t “change” his attitude.
The Portugal international is widely regarded as one of the best post-Sir Alex Ferguson signings and was one of the bright sparks last season as Man Utd finished eighth in the Premier League.
Fernandes replaced Harry Maguire as the club captain last summer with Ten Hag and the Red Devils looking to sell the England international.
However, Maguire stayed and played a key role as injuries mounted up last season and Fernandes has received criticism over his captaincy with the Portuguese midfielder regularly gesticulating wildly when he’s not happy on the pitch.
And Souness has questioned whether the Man Utd skipper has the attributes needed to be the club’s captain long term under Ten Hag.
Souness said on the Three Up Front podcast: “When you look at leaders in the modern game, one example is at Manchester United, which is one of the biggest institutions in world football.
“The club captain is Bruno Fernandes. When they were 3-0 down against Liverpool a couple of seasons ago, he just threw the towel in… he’s the captain!
“If anything, he should still be contributing, running around with enthusiasm and helping his teammates.
“I don’t think Fernandes can change that aspect of himself – it’s part of him. When he’s shrugging his shoulders and throwing his arms around, that’s just him.”
There have been reports that French champions Paris Saint-Germain have expressed an interest in Fernandes this summer but former Man Utd defender Steve Bruce insists that the Red Devils must keep him.
On the speculation, Bruce told talkSPORT: “He cannot leave. Look, for me, the one shining light in the last few years at Manchester United has been Bruno.
“I mean, he plays with huge intensity. Yes, he gets a bit frustrated at times and can be a bit petulant at times, but in terms of a footballer, just look at the statistics…
“He plays 50 games a season and he scores 15 to 20 goals a season and is at the top of the assists too. He is a top, top player… you don’t want to be losing him.”
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Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano insists that Bayern Munich defender Noussair Mazraoui does not prefer a move to West Ham over Man Utd and the Red Devils still need to sell Aaron Wan-Bissaka before they can sell.
Romano wrote in his Caught Offside: “Despite the rumours, I’m not aware of Noussair Mazraoui preferring a move to West Ham over Man United.
“Man United still have Aaron Wan-Bissaka and they need him to leave first in order to bring in a new right-back.
“The situation whilst I’m writing is that West Ham can make a deal happen now as they have agreed terms with Bayern, but they’re still working on the player side.
“It’s also true that Wan-Bissaka would like to move to Italy but at the moment it’s not something advanced or concrete.
“An idea offered by intermediaries since April/May was a swap deal with Inter’s Denzel Dumfries, but it’s just agents trying to make a deal for two players out of contract in 2025.”
2024-07-26T07:56:43Z dg43tfdfdgfd