Bruno Fernandes labelled ‘child’ as Man Utd face ‘serious issues’ with captain ‘open’ to transfer

Bruno Fernandes has been branded a “child” after his penalty miss cost Man Utd in a 1-1 draw against Fulham in the Premier League over the weekend.

The Red Devils have made a poor start to the new season with Ruben Amorim’s side taking just one point from their opening two matches against Arsenal and Fulham.

Man Utd were also humiliated in the League Cup on Wednesday evening with League Two Grimsby beating them on penalties after the Red Devils came from two goals down.

Bruno Fernandes has often been the bright light for Man Utd, despite their struggles, but he is often criticised for his body language and moaning.

Against Fulham at the weekend, Fernandes criticised referee Chris Kavanagh following his missed spot-kick after the official bumped into the Man Utd captain as he stepped back from positioning the ball on the penalty spot.

Fernandes revealed after the match that he was “upset” as the incident had disrupted his penalty-taking routine but former Arsenal winger Theo Walcott has labelled the Man Utd midfielder a “child”.

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Walcott said on It’s Called Soccer!: “I look at it like this, it’s a child’s response. Because you’re still trying to teach their mind of how to deal with situations – we’re talking about a child.

“It was a natural child reaction which you would expect and you expect them to keep going on. You know what it’s like with you kids, something happens and they want to keep on going on and you’re trying to manage the situation.

“But he’s a professional athlete who’s the captain of Manchester United football club, he needs to be stronger and blank everything out because you’re playing for the biggest club in the world right now, and if that affects him, the referee bumping him, then they’ve got big, serious issues already.”

Walcott continued: “Get him off penalty duties, get him off the captain’s armband perhaps? Because, for me, if that was another player, you think [Cristiano] Ronaldo is going to? [react the same way] absolutely no chance, do you think Odegaard at Arsenal? [would react the same way] absolutely no chance. Bruno Fernandes’ reaction has really surprised me but it’s got us talking about that instead of the result.”

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When asked about the incident, Fernandes said: “Yeah I was upset. [Like] every penalty taker, you have your own routine and things that you do.

“It upset me because the referee didn’t apologise and that was what triggered me in the moment but that’s not the excuse to miss a penalty. I just had a very bad hit of the ball, I took my foot too under the ball and that’s why it went over the bar.”

A report on Wednesday revealed that Fernandes is now ‘open’ to leaving Man Utd at the end of the season as he doesn’t want anything to interrupt his chances of playing in the World Cup with Portugal.