It’s not been the start to the season that Manchester United fans would have hoped for this year, as the team have taken just seven out of a possible 15 points in the Premier League so far.
In addition, Erik ten Hag’s side were also held to an embarrassing 1-1 draw at home to Dutch side FC Twente on Wednesday night, in what could be the low point of the campaign so far.
Now, in defence of the three-time European Champions and their manager, the team have played better football so far this season, but the goals and, therefore, the results simply have not come.
However, while the team as a whole hasn’t looked as bad as their results suggest so far, club captain Bruno Fernandes has, and what makes that worse is that United once missed the opportunity to sign a youngster who would have been the dream replacement today.
Fernandes's season so far
So, while nobody can question Fernandes’s overall quality – he’s scored 79 goals and provided 70 assists in just 241 games for the Red Devils, after all – he has been well off his incredible best so far this season.
For example, while he has four assists in eight games, one of those came in the Community Shield and two from the game against League One side Barnsley. Thus, in five Premier League games and one Europa League match, the 30-year-old dynamo has just one assist to his name.
However, it’s not just subpar output in meaningful games that has caused concern among fans; it’s his all-around play, decision-making, and ability to dictate play, with perhaps his worst performance for quite some time coming against Crystal Palace last week.
In his 95 minutes of action against the Eagles, he gave away the ball a staggering 34 times, which equates to once every 2.79 minutes, and had a passing accuracy of just 73% from 82 attempted passes. These are frankly dire statistics from the player who should be your team’s creative hub, and they go some way to explaining the 4/10 rating he received from the Manchester Evening News’ Samuel Luckhurst.
Overall, Fernandes is a supremely gifted player and someone who will probably bounce back from this slump in form sooner rather than later, but Ten Hag desperately needs another creative and threatening midfielder to start ahead of him at the moment, and back in the past, the club missed out on someone who would have been perfect.
United's Jamal Musiala blunder
Yes, believe it or not, but in March 2018, there was a chance that United could have picked up Bayern Munich superstar Jamal Musiala before he made his way to Bavaria.
According to an article from The Athletic, the club were offered the chance to take the young prospect on loan six years ago, and while youth scout Andreas Herrmann regarded him as an extreme talent, United were conscious of regulations and decided that pursuing the youngster would be too risky.
Now, while we aren’t privy to what those regulations and potential punishments would have been, we are sure they would have been more than worth taking to sign a player who is now worth an eye-watering €130m, per transfermarkt, which converts to about £108m.
Moreover, Ten Hag would have a simply sensational talent in his squad and someone who could either work in tandem with Fernandes or replace him when he’s out of form.
For example, despite still being just 21 years old, the Stuttgart-born star has already made 169 appearances for FC Hollywood, in which he’s scored 46 goals, provided 34 assists, won the Champions League, four Bundesliga titles and a FIFA Club World Cup.
Appearances
169
Goals
46
Assists
34
Goal Involvements per Match
0.47
Moreover, he’s already a crucial cog in the national team, racking up six goals and eight assists in 36 senior caps and ending up as the joint-top goalscorer at the Euros.
Ultimately, Fernandes will likely rediscover his form at some point, but had United pressed on with their interest in Musiala six years ago, Ten Hag would be under no pressure to start him every week, and the club would have an incredibly valuable asset on their hands.
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