Manchester United have two midfielders in the Premier League's top 10 for passing accuracy this season, among midfielders who have played at least 250 minutes. Kobbie Mainoo — 93.9% Youri Tielemans — 90.4% So United arguably have two of the best midfielders in the league when it comes to completing passes and retaining the ball. Yet somehow, Manchester United remain one of the worst teams in the Premier League when it comes to possession. So what is going wrong? A huge part of it comes down to the setup of the team and, particularly, the role of Bruno Fernandes. A lot of people don't understand that the job of an attacking midfielder goes beyond scoring goals and providing assists. An attacking midfielder also has to contribute to keeping possession and controlling games. You can't constantly give the ball away trying to make something happen out of nothing and then act like you're doing your job because you occasionally produce a goal or assist. Of course, attacking midfielders are allowed to take risks. That's part of the position. But the instinct should still be to find the right pass, the right player and the right moment rather than forcing something every single time. Especially at a club like Manchester United, where the objective should be to dominate possession and control games. United clearly have midfielders capable of keeping the ball. The problem is that the team's overall setup doesn't allow them to maximise that ability. And until that changes, Manchester United will continue to struggle to control possession regardless of how good their individual passers are.

Bruno Fernandes didn't thrive under Ruben Amorim, especially in the Premier League, and I think there's a very simple reason for that. Amorim wanted to build a possession-based system. A system that was dependent on the team rather than one individual. And in that kind of system, Bruno Fernandes was never going to thrive. That's one of the reasons Amorim moved Bruno into a deeper midfield role alongside Casemiro. Playing deeper forced Bruno to become more disciplined with the ball because losing possession in that area could immediately lead to a dangerous chance. And it worked to a certain extent. Bruno started retaining the ball better and dictating play from deeper areas. Then Amorim got sacked. Michael Carrick came in, used Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo in midfield and moved Bruno back into the No.10 position. And guess what? Bruno started thriving again. The numbers came back. He became more involved, created more and, most importantly, started producing more assists. Why? Because Carrick wasn't obsessed with dominating possession. Carrick was heavily reliant on counter-attacks. He was willing to let opponents have the ball, come onto Manchester United and then punish them in transition. And that is exactly the kind of chaotic environment Bruno thrives in. Teams didn't respect Manchester United enough, so they often came forward and left spaces behind. Bruno is the perfect player for that kind of football. He can pick passes from deep, find runners like Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko, and turn defensive transitions into goalscoring opportunities. Now look at Portugal. At the World Cup, Portugal had a midfield built around players like Vitinha and João Neves, players who are extremely comfortable keeping the ball, progressing possession and controlling games. Bruno was average. He was nowhere near the level we've seen from him at his best. Why? Because Portugal were usually the team on the front foot. They were dominating possession and asking Bruno to operate in a system where he had to contribute within sustained possession rather than constantly exploiting transitions. Now look at Manchester United this season. The midfield has been revamped. Casemiro has been replaced by Youri Tielemans, while André Santos has been replaced by Carlos Baleba, although Baleba hasn't played for the club yet. The Tielemans-Mainoo midfield is much more comfortable keeping the ball, progressing possession and controlling games than the old Casemiro-Mainoo midfield. And Bruno is once again being asked to play as the attacking midfielder in a system built around possession. And once again, he's struggling. This is the problem. Bruno Fernandes thrives in chaos. He thrives when Manchester United don't have to dominate possession. He thrives when opponents come forward, spaces open up and he can attack those spaces with his passing. He does NOT look nearly as effective when the system is built around controlling possession, dominating territory and patiently building from the back. So if Michael Carrick genuinely wants to build a possession-based Manchester United, he has a serious decision to make. Either change the system to suit Bruno, or get rid of Bruno. And this is the reality a lot of Manchester United fans don't want to accept. You can't change reality because you like a player. I'm actually looking forward to the rest of the season because we'll have a proper sample size. If Carrick eventually goes back to full-time counter-attacking football and Bruno starts producing again, his fans will point to the numbers and tell you Bruno was never the problem. But that's exactly the point. If your best attacking midfielder can only consistently thrive when your team plays chaotic counter-attacking football, then relying on that player isn't taking you very far.

Michael Carrick says he wants Manchester United to play like Luis Enrique's PSG. But honestly, we don't play one bit like PSG. Look at PSG's midfield: João Neves, Vitinha, Fabián Ruiz, even Zaire-Emery. These players know how to use the ball. They keep possession, make good decisions and rarely make erratic decisions just for the sake of getting rid of the ball. Then look at Manchester United. Carrick has Bruno Fernandes, whose first instinct is to get the ball away from his feet as quickly as possible. He doesn't mind losing possession. He just wants to make something happen immediately. So if you want to build a team that controls games and dominates possession, having Bruno Fernandes in the middle of it is like having kryptonite in your own team. It simply isn't going to work. For Manchester United to genuinely play possession-based football, certain players have to leave the club — and Bruno Fernandes should be one of the first names on that list. Bruno thrives in chaos. Give him a chaotic game with no clear pattern, where the opposition is pressing high and leaving space behind, and that's where he's at his best. That's why I genuinely think if Manchester City hadn't gone down to 10 men, we probably would've had a better chance of getting something from the game. City would've come at us, pressed us, left space behind and relied on transitions. That's exactly the kind of game Bruno loves. He can find a runner, play the risky pass and create something out of chaos. But once City got the red card, the responsibility changed. Manchester United had to control the game. We had to dominate possession, move the ball, pin Manchester City back and create openings against a team sitting deeper. And that's where Bruno showed just how mediocre he can be in possession. He gave the ball away twice, handed momentum straight back to Manchester City and killed attacks that needed patience and control. Football isn't just about scoring goals or putting the ball in the back of the net. It's also about controlling games, moving the ball properly and actually making football enjoyable for the players and the fans watching. And honestly, I haven't watched a single Manchester United game this season and thought, "I'm genuinely enjoying this." If Carrick really wants to build a team that plays like PSG, then difficult decisions have to be made. And yes, Bruno Fernandes has to leave the club. At this point, I genuinely don't care what his fans think about it.