"He's not playing to the best of his ability" - Paul Ince expresses concern with Manchester United star after Everton win
Former Premier League star Paul Ince has expressed concern about Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes following the 3-0 Premier League win at Everton on Sunday (November 26). Ince said that the Portuguese isn't playing at the top of his game and also questioned his leadership on the pitch.
Recall that Fernandes wore the captain's armband as United took on Everton at Goodison Park. The 29-year-old didn't have much impact during the game and was seen getting into arguments with officials.
Paul Ince wasn't too pleased with the midfielder's body language and didn't hesitate to point at it. On talkSPORT, the former Red Devils star boldly claimed that he wouldn't allow Fernandes to captain his team.
“No I don’t think he’d like Fernandes to be his captain. Listen, captains are completely different nowadays when you talk about the Bryan Robsons and Roy Keanes of this world. Proper leaders. Beckham was a leader by the way he played. He wasn’t very talkative,” he said.
“I don’t know what I see in Fernandes in as is he a leader by the way he plays. I feel at the moment he’s not playing to the best of his ability. As a leader, you do it by organisation. My main thing as a captain was if I’m not playing well, make sure the people around you are playing well."
Ince added:
"It shows how bad you’re playing. That’s your purpose as a captain, look around you and get others playing well. I look at Fernandes, and it’s all about him, and I think if he’s not playing well, then, you can see it in his body language."
Bruno Fernandes' numbers for Manchester United this season
Although Bruno Fernandes has fallen off the level he showed last season, it wouldn't be far-fetched to say that the 29-year-old hasn't had a terrible outing this term. That's especially considering the fact that Manchester United have endured a slow start to the season.
The Portuguese has made 18 appearances for the Red Devils across competitions, recording four goals and as many assists. That includes three goals and as many assists in the Premier League as well as one goal and one assist in the UEFA Champions League.
Up next, Manchester United will go head-to-head with Galatasaray in a must-win Champions League game on Wednesday before squaring off with Newcastle United in the Premier League four days later.