Man Utd: Carrick told to make ‘biggest call’ on Bruno Fernandes as another star ‘should not be playing’
Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick has been told to make the “biggest call” on Bruno Fernandes for this weekend’s match against Leeds United.
Last season, Fernandes was arguably the Premier League’s best player as he broke the assist record, but he has underperformed at the start of this campaign.
This has contributed to Man Utd‘s poor start to the 2026/27 campaign, with the Red Devils without a win in five games after losing to Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night.
Head coach Carrick is now the favourite to be the first Premier League manager sacked this season, and this weekend’s match against Leeds United could be vital.
“He doesn’t do enough…”
Ahead of this weekend’s match, ex-United defender Paul Parker has hit out at Fernandes and unusually hit out at “usual new slang words” about his career, while he also had harsh words for Harry Maguire.
“A lot of people come up with the usual new slang words of, ‘His numbers are good.’ I’m not into all that rubbish,” Parker told FreeBets.
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“I’m on about 90 minutes of graft, and when he comes up, when people look at you and know you’ve given everything, rather than waiting and looking at the stats after the game to say how well you played.
“I’m a realist, an old boy, I should say, really, and he doesn’t do enough. If you’re watching a game of football and put all that rubbish away, then he just hasn’t done enough. So that’s my bit.”
On Harry Maguire, Parker added: “I think the club has had Harry Maguire for far too long. He should not be playing now for Manchester United. That’s the reason why people will never take United seriously.
“They want to win the league, because there’s too many players in that team who have been at Manchester United for too long, who have never come close to winning the league.”
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TalkSPORT reporter and Manchester United supporter Alex Crook has also been critical of Fernandes, having argued that Carrick should make the “biggest call” to drop him for this weekend’s match against Leeds United.
“I don’t think he’s fit,” Crook said on talkSPORT.
“He missed games for Portugal during the international break. He hasn’t looked himself.
“I think the biggest call that Michael Carrick could make right now and it would be huge to leave his captain out.
“Apart from the game against Ipswich, he’s not putting numbers on the board. I would take him out of the team against Leeds at the weekend.”
Crook continued: “They’re losing games with him in the team and, as I say, at the moment it seems to me like they’re carrying a passenger.
“Credit to Bruno Fernandes, he rarely misses games through injury, but he doesn’t look fit and if he’s not fit I just don’t think they can afford to carry him.”
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