Paul Ince believes Bruno Fernandes is not playing his best football and should not be the captain of Manchester United.
The Portuguese produced one of his best performances of the season as United beat Everton 3-0 thanks to Alexandro Garnacho’s wonder goal, but Ince remains far from impressed.
“I don’t know what I see in Fernandes because he is not a leader with the way he plays,” the former Manchester United and Liverpool midfielder told talkSPORT on Monday.
‘I have the feeling that he is not playing optimally at the moment.’
Erik ten Hag handed over the captaincy to Fernandes on a temporary basis after dropping Harry Maguire last season, before making the move permanent in the summer.
Paul Ince believes that Bruno Fernandes is not playing his best football and should not wear the armband at Manchester United
Ince said Fernandes was not the right candidate for the role as he improved his teammates
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But Ince insisted Fernandes was not the right candidate for the role, suggesting his shortcomings as captain were evident as United endured a dismal start to the season with five defeats in their first 10 Premier League games.
“As a leader you do that organizationally,” he explained.
“My main job as captain was that if I don’t play well, I have to make sure the people around you play well. It shows how bad you play.
‘That’s your goal as captain, look around you and make sure others play well. “I look at Fernandes and it’s all about him and I think if he’s not playing well you can see it in his body language.”
Fernandes’ perceived lack of leadership and his body language came under scrutiny last month after United were beaten 3-0 at home by Manchester City.
Former United captain Roy Keane picked Fernandes after the defeat, arguing the Portuguese midfielder’s body language was ‘the opposite of what you want in a captain’.
‘The first thing I would do is strip him of the captaincy. I know it’s a big decision but Fernandes is not captain material,” he told Sky Sports.
“He’s a talented player, but from what I saw today, he whines, moans and throws his arms in the air all the time.
The Portuguese’s attitude has come under scrutiny this season as United have struggled
Roy Keane said Fernandes’ body language was ‘the opposite of what you want in a captain’ after United were beaten 3-0 at home by Manchester City last month
‘It’s really not acceptable. If you’re talking about where they make changes – at board level, managers – I would start there, because the manager has the ability to do that.
‘Fernandes is a brilliant footballer, but he is the opposite of what you want in a captain.’
Speaking on Mail Sport It all starts! podcast with Ian Ladyman, Chris Sutton described Fernandes as ‘prickly’ and not the right person to captain United.
‘You look at the great captains of Manchester United from the past. [Roy] Keane, [Bryan] Robson, [Steve] Bruce, [Nemanja] Vidic and [Gary] Marcel.
‘They are captains with a bit of clout, a bit of authority. [They are] someone you want to follow out of the tunnel that you feel like you’d run through a wall with.
‘I never felt the same about Bruno Fernandes. I think he’s sulky.’
But the Portugal international showed plenty of leadership on Sunday as he handed penalties to Marcus Rashford in the win over Everton.
Fernandes is United’s designated penalty taker but he felt Rashford needed a confidence boost after scoring just once this season.
Fernandes handed over penalty responsibilities to Marcus Rashford in the win against Everton
‘[I did it] because I felt Marcus [Rashford] needed a bit of confidence, he needed his goal,” he told Sky Sports.
‘Marcus is also an excellent penalty taker, I am 100 percent sure he can score that penalty. It’s not about who takes the ball, it’s about scoring and Marcus did that perfectly.’
The win at Goodison moved United back to sixth place, four points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa and six ahead of leaders Arsenal.
Ten Hag’s men face Galatasaray in Istanbul on Wednesday in a crucial Champions League match that they must win to keep their qualification hopes alive and then travel to Newcastle on Saturday evening.