 has covered more distance than Fernandes, who has clocked up 46.86km during Manchester United's first four league matches, per PremierLeague.com. In addition to his physical statistics, Fernandes has also caught the eye in the attacking metrics. The midfield maestro, who has a goal and an assist to his name already this term, has crafted a staggering 13 chances for his teammates across said fixtures - a figure that far exceeds those of anybody else in a United shirt. Join the debate! Do you think Fernandes is the right man to captain Man Utd? Let us know here. Ten Hag explained that Fernandes' drive to succeed on the pitch and his ability to change games were behind his decision to hand him the armband. Speaking back in July, the Dutchman said: 'A good team is always covering areas as leaders, team players, multi-functional players, specialists, individualists. 'But you need some leaders in the te){kind=link}
Bruno Fernandes may not have been the universally popular choice to become Manchester United’s new manager this summer, but he has been leading by example on the pitch
Bruno Fernandes may have always been Erik ten Hag’s first choice to become the new Manchester United captain, but it’s a decision that has still been questioned in some quarters.
While Fernandes, 29, has firmly established himself as one of the club’s most influential players since moving to Old Trafford from Sporting Lisbon back in 2020, his body language when the chips are down has not always reflected that of a role model.
The Portuguese international has attracted criticism from a horde of Premier League pundits since inheriting the armband in the summer, including Micah Richards and Chris Sutton, with the latter even suggesting that Fernandes should be stripped of the captaincy.
However, some of the latest statistical figures released by the Premier League have revealed that Fernandes is, quite literally, leading by example in one key metric.