Box to Box: Why Fernandes is a leader

The former United forward picked out the way in which Fernandes encouraged his team-mates, including captain Harry Maguire, during the game against Wolves on Saturday as a major plus point, following his recent arrival.

“I love this, this is one of my favourite things,” said Webber, who analysed the Portuguese’s performance alongside Statman Dave as part of MUTV’s Box to Box feature, which you can watch a snippet of below.

“He’s dictating, he’s telling Maguire on this occasion where to play it. He’s demanding things from people, his head’s on the swivel all the time. He’s offering himself.

“The ball is rotating and he’s saying give it and go. He’s demanding from the players and, for me, that’s a massive, massive attribute when you’ve got someone like that dictating from the front.”

Bruno’s instant positive impact is further illuminated when his individual stats from the game are examined by the pair.

The 25-year-old completed a game-high 110 touches and 86 passes, 42 of the latter coming in the final third as United tried to unpick a typically stubborn Wolves backline.

Fernandes, who contributed to 33 goals from midfield for his former club in the 2018/19 season, also recorded five shots on goal, three of them on target, which was more than any other player on the pitch.

As if to emphasise his all-round abilities in midfield, the Portugal international completed six tackles, second only to our right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka – which, as we’ve seen so far this season, is nothing to be disappointed about!

In an insightful 11-minute feature, which is exclusively available to MUTV subscribers, Statman Dave and Webber pick up on the bits of Bruno's debut you might have missed.

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