Manchester United have lost captain and talisman Bruno Fernandes to injury, leaving manager Ruben Amorim with a big problem to solve when they face Newcastle on Boxing Day.
It’s a question Manchester United have never really had to deal with, but the question Ruben Amorim now faces is what to do without Bruno Fernandes.
Fernandes is not only United’s captain and talisman, he is almost always present. The playmaker has barely missed a game since signing from Sporting Lisbon in January 2020. He missed two games at the end of the 2023/24 season with a knee problem, and then another due to illness. Otherwise, he appeared in almost every start, appearing in 308 games and contributing 103 goals and 93 assists.
Fernandes is undoubtedly United’s best and most consistent player. And given his complete and utter control over Amorim’s team, he is arguably the most important player for any team in the Premier League. And now he is absent.
We don’t yet know how long it will last. Amorim said he was likely to “lose some games” after being sent off at half-time against Aston Villa on Sunday. Manager Diogo Dalot said his absence was “massive”, at least against Newcastle on Boxing Day, with Brian Mbeumo, Amad Diallo and Nosair Mazraoui away at the Africa Cup of Nations, and Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt also injured.
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Massive pretty much covers it. The January transfer window is just around the corner, but Amorim has already warned against panic buying to protect his captain. “We’ll see what we do,” Amorim said after the game. “I think Koby Mainu will be out and Bruno will be out as well. So we’ll see. We’ll find a solution. We won’t make excuses. We need to win the next game and we’ll try to win the next game too.”
“What we can’t do is go into January and try to do everything in a hurry and make a mistake and then make a bunch of mistakes and say, ‘Here we go again.’ We’re not going to get together (with) (director of football) Jason (Wilcox) and (chief executive officer) Omar (Berada) and say, ‘We need a lot of players.'” Because we have a plan. If we have to suffer, the club comes first. ”
What’s the plan? Well, Amorim has at least been boosted by the return from suspension of Casemiro, who missed the 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season. There is no doubt that the experienced Brazilian will return as a more defensive midfielder, but it is unclear who his partner will be.
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Mainu’s injury was extremely ill-timed. The 20-year-old has sat frustratingly on the bench all season, failing to play whenever the opportunity arises. Amorim said Maynou was seen as a more attacking-minded midfielder and could have been a good fit for the match against Newcastle.
A look at the first-team squad on United’s website shows how underpowered they are at the moment. Injuries to Fernandes and Mainu and the departure of Toby Collier and Dan Gore on loan left Casemiro, Manuel Ugarte and Mason Mount as the only midfielders fit for the first team.
Picking two out of the three seems easy, with Mount the best choice to replace Fernandes. The former Chelsea player tended to play as one of the number 10s in Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 formation, but can also drop back into the midfield two and has the creative instincts to push forward.
Ugarte, on the other hand, lacks any such instincts and has been an underwhelming flop since his £50m move from Paris Saint-Germain in August 2024. Shockingly, United have not won any of the last nine league games in which Ugarte has started.
Amorim brought in Lisandro Martínez to play in midfield in the second half against Villa, and the returning Argentine international did a decent job. However, the defender is clearly not a replacement and cannot play alongside Casemiro. Alternatively, he could probably move back to defense in place of Aiden Heaven.
The last option for Amorim is from the academy, but he has been accused of neglecting this area since arriving over a year ago. In fact, Amorim mentioned two debutants on Sunday at Villa Park as options, saying: “I think (Jack) Fletcher has played his first game, so that’s good news. So has (Shay) Lacey. So we’ll find a solution and move on to the next game.”
Lacey is a wide forward who showed glimpses of his talent against Villa by cutting inside from the right wing and scoring with his left foot. Fletcher, the son of former United midfielder Darren Fletcher, is a central midfielder who could earn more minutes in future games. But inserting him into the starting XI against Newcastle’s Bruno Guimarães, Sandro Tonali and Joelinton would be a big step up, and Amorim is unlikely to accept it.
Moving Mount back into midfield alongside Casemiro looks like the smartest option at the moment, even if the separation of Mbeumo and Amad leaves more problems up front. Lacey, 18, will likely compete with Joshua Zirkzee for the starting spot.
Potential lineup for Man United vs. Newcastle: Lamence. Yoro, Martinez, and Shaw. Dalot, Casemiro, Mount, Dorg. Zirksee, Cunha. Sesco.
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