Man Utd Evening News: Carrick needs to use Bruno Fernandes cautiously next season, he needs rest

According to the Manchester Evening News, Manchester United will need to use Bruno Fernandes more cautiously next season.

Manchester United will almost certainly see more of Bruno Fernandes. After just breaking the Premier League's single-season assist record, the Portuguese playmaker will lead the team in chasing Manchester City and Arsenal next season and returning to the Champions League.

Last summer, Bruno Fernandes was close to leaving Old Trafford. In the middle of this season, he also considered his future. However, at the end of the season, he received a series of individual awards, and his mentality became positive, and he agreed with the view that Manchester United was gaining momentum.

The 31-year-old Bruno Fernandes will travel to the World Cup with Portugal in the best form of his career. He contributed 21 assists and 9 goals in 35 Premier League appearances, making him the biggest contributor to Manchester United's rise to third place.

Bruno Fernandes is one of several players at Old Trafford who have benefited from a reduced schedule. Although his durability has never been a problem since joining Manchester United six and a half years ago, his availability has always been one of his biggest strengths.

Since joining Manchester United from Sporting CP in January 2020, Bruno Fernandes has made 327 appearances. In comparison, he has only missed 17 games during this period.

This is an amazing attendance record, but Bruno Fernandes will turn 32 in September. Playing at such a high intensity will eventually take its toll. He is approaching an age where it will be harder to maintain such a high frequency of appearances, and the cumulative load of the past six years will begin to show.

Manchester United needs to avoid this situation as much as possible, and the captain must be protected next season. The manager may for the first time need to manage his attendance and playing time, which will be a challenge for Carrick.

Under previous managers, Bruno Fernandes would almost always play if he was physically able. Since joining Manchester United, he has started 37 of the team's 42 Europa League matches, played in 21 of 25 FA Cup matches, and even played in 9 League Cup matches.

In the season Manchester United won the League Cup, Bruno Fernandes played the full 90 minutes in both the third and fourth rounds. In September 2024 against Barnsley, he even came on as a substitute, and then played the full 90 minutes in the fourth round against Leicester City that same year.

During Manchester United's run to the Europa League final in the 2024/25 season, Bruno Fernandes missed 1 game due to suspension and played only 9 minutes less in the other 14 games. The only game he didn't finish was an away draw against Porto when he was sent off.

Such playing time should be unsustainable now. Next season, Bruno Fernandes should not play too much before the League Cup semi-finals. In the FA Cup, he can also rest until the quarter-finals.

Bruno Fernandes will certainly be very keen to play in the Champions League, but the new format means there are 8 group stage games, two of which are against the lowest-ranked teams. Bruno Fernandes could certainly rest in one or two of these, or at least start from the bench.

Compared to any previous Manchester United manager, Carrick could potentially keep Bruno Fernandes at a high level for longer if he better managed his playing time. It is clear that Bruno Fernandes is still the most important player in this team, and Manchester United needs to extend his peak for as long as possible.

For Carrick, the question is who can deputize for the captain. Over the past six years, Bruno Fernandes has proven himself indispensable. Manchester United should certainly look at his long-term successors, such as Morgan Rogers or Gibbs-White, but for now they need short-term solutions.

There are currently two prominent options, and they have different characteristics. Matheus Cunha is a more attacking number 10. The Brazilian is most likely to come close to Bruno Fernandes in terms of offensive output and can provide similar creativity and inspiration behind the striker.

Another option is Mount. His statistics are not the same, but his game-reading ability can often be an advantage in opening up play and creating space for teammates.

Towards the end of the season, Mount played twice in a deeper midfield role under Carrick and was particularly impressive in the final away win against Brighton. However, throughout his career, he has often played as an attacking midfielder and can certainly fill that role again in the future.

There is no doubt that Cunha and Mount can share enough starts in cup competitions to give Bruno Fernandes the rest he needs, thereby ensuring he can maintain this level of performance for longer.