Manchester United‘s Bruno Fernandes has been named as the stand-in captain ahead of their UEFA Champions League clash versus PSG tonight.
#EndSARS That's it, that's the tweet.
— 𝙾𝚜𝚎 𝙼𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚑𝚘 says #EndSARS (@EngrLeroy) October 18, 2020
The appointment comes as a surprise to most given that Fernandes has been at the club for less than a year. Even Fernandes was surprised at the news, his reaction somewhat comic when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer broke the news in their pre-match press conference ahead of their UEFA Champions League group stage match versus Paris St. Germain later tonight.
My new favourite video pic.twitter.com/94Vyca6egw
— ‘ (@vintageredss) October 19, 2020
Upon further inspection though, it should come as no surprise given the massive impact the Portuguese international’s arrival has had on the club, on and off the field. Bruno is virtually Mr Manchester United now; giving him the armband just makes sense.
Fernandes has been involved in a ludicrous 26 goals in 27 games since signing for Manchester United, a ridiculous stat in itself, but it’s his fiery competitive in-game nature that really endears him to fans and solidifies his credentials as captain material.
Bruno Fernandes has been directly involved in 26 goals in 27 games across all competitions since joining Man Utd:
◉ 15 goals
◉ 11 assistsDespite the bonkers numbers, he was still surprised about being named captain for the PSG game. 😅 pic.twitter.com/mnd0EQcSXJ
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) October 20, 2020
Comparisons have been drawn between Fernandes and former United skipper Roy Keane.
Fernandes has certainly shown that he’s not shy of expressing his emotions on the pitch, best illustrated by his quick telling off of Victor Lindelof for a bad piece of defending which cost United in their UEFA Europa League semi-final last season.
Recent footage of him telling off new signing Alex Telles in training has also added fuel to the Fernandes captaincy agenda. The two know each other from their time in the Portuguese Liga Nos and Fernandes was key in getting the Brazillian left-back to sign for the Red Devils.
Bruno Fernandes is 100% captain material.
Losing his cool with Alex Telles for not moving the ball on quickly enough.
These are the levels we need! 💥#mufc #mulive pic.twitter.com/9uA2B55t7U
— StrettyNews.com (@StrettyNews) October 19, 2020
Fernandes will be hoping to lead his team to victory in his first game as captain. United face a tough test away at Paris, but with their Portuguese talisman leading the Mancunians will feel they have a good chance.
If just signing him has had such a positive impact, imagine what he can do as captain?