Some of the Manchester United players sense Ruben Amorim leans on his compatriots and keeps a distance from others in the squad. However much Amorim leans on Bruno Fernandes, the United captain continues to withstand the weight of expectation.
When United resume their season after the March internationals, it will likely be Fernandes' 278th appearance for the club. An unremarkable number. But the same number of appearances as Luke Shaw.
Shaw, signed in June 2014, made his United debut in September 2014. Fernandes debuted on February 1 2020. In between those dates, there were three general elections in the United Kingdom, the Brexit referendum and two prime ministers left 10 Downing Street.
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"He's always available," Amorim enthused about Fernandes. Shaw never is. Amorim put it mildly when he opined that United "need more Brunos".
The United captain has missed two games through injury in his career. A handful of United sceptics believe the club will never become a credible force with Fernandes in the side. There is possibly something in that.
Fernandes is a moments player. Like a carefree golfer at a driving range, he will keep aiming for the pin, overhitting or underhitting. Sometimes, he will eventually hit it.
Manchester City gave serious consideration to signing Fernandes in 2019 but passed at the 11th hour. Liverpool tracked Fernandes but one of their senior scouts concluded he ceded possession too often. Those two clubs have been England's only title winners since 2018.
Fernandes mirrors United: something can happen out of nothing. Like his free kick against Arsenal. Or the free kick against Everton. Or the added-time volley against Rangers. Or the counter-attack conversion at Arsenal.
It has been an especially trying time for United, with demoralising results, a second round of redundancies in the offing and another vivid protest outside Old Trafford. Behind the scenes, sources say Fernandes has stepped up even more as a leader and kept things together to maintain unity amid the threat of matters unravelling.
This correspondent has lost count of how often Fernandes's player rating has rocketed from 3 or 4/10 to 7 or 8/10 through him creating something out of nothing, upgrading a draw or defeat into victory.
United have no structure, cannot master Amorim's system and have not had a long-term identity in aeons. They were so unwatchable in the first half against Arsenal that a number of press box attendants headed inside early. Then Fernandes produced the only watchable moment of an anodyne half.
"Where would we be without him?" mused a United staff member. Relegation might have been a realistic threat if United were deprived of Fernandes.
Take Fernandes out of the team and look at what happens. Thumped 4-0 by Crystal Palace and 2-0 down inside 19 minutes at home to Newcastle, with an incendiary substitution made after 33 minutes. United were 3-0 down to the same opposition with Fernandes on the bench in the League Cup last season.
Fernandes has been involved in United shellackings. 7-0 at Liverpool, 4-0s at Brentford and Brighton, 6-3 at City, 6-1 against Tottenham. In the latter, he was removed at half-time after a dressing room rant.
Fernandes has gone up a gear or two since his red card at Wolves. That Boxing Day dismissal was compounded by the gut punch of Amorim blanking him as he headed for the tunnel.
His first game back, Fernandes created four chances in United's creditable draw with Liverpool, the most by a United player at Anfield since Opta started recording data in 2003-04. Staff at United feel the expulsion at Wolves has been the making of Fernandes this season.
His increased efficacy has coincided with a role change. Fernandes excelled in deep midfield when relocated there by Erik ten Hag and that positional switch now appears to be permanent.
Fernandes has played on the right and as the de facto striker in a triumphant FA Cup final. He ended last season's quarter-final epic against Liverpool at centre half. Amorim said he is "always there to play in different positions.
"Sometimes when we need a goal, a free kick, an assist, he’s always there. I think he’s a very good example, he does some mistakes but he’s a very good example for other players.
“I think any coach, when he wants to bring players in, he expects the best. But sometimes they have to adapt and sometimes you have luck with the character of the player even with all the investigations that all the coaches do before signing players.
"What I can say is that we need more Brunos. That is clear. Not just the quality, the character - not some mistakes - but the character he has. The availability in this league is so important and he’s so decisive with the ball and without the ball."
Until he saw red for the third time in three months, Fernandes was mired in regression. His form tailed off following his contract renewal in April 2022 and history repeated itself in August.
Fernandes had a strong bargaining position: he was the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year again. Casemiro and Marcus Rashford were on a bigger whack. There was interest from Inter Milan and Bayern Munich, elite Champions League clubs.
After his man-of-the-match performance in the victory against Newcastle last May, Fernandes said on live television: “If for some reason they don't want to have me, I will go. But if they want me I will stay." He stayed, as one of United's handful of earners on more than £300,000-a-week.
Figures at the club say Fernandes' extension was a big strategic decision and one that could have gone either way. United fans have become accustomed to cursing improved contracts that precipitate poor form (eg. Rashford). Fernandes was one of the few they could eventually count on.
He is still someone they can lean on.
