So it seems from what I've read on social media and blogs over the last few days that United fans are almost universally happy that they have signed Portuguese midfielder Bruno Fernandes for somewhere in the region of £65million. On the face of it, Fernandes who over the last 18 months has averaged the best part of a goal or assist per game is certainly the type of player that United require. However, looking a little more closely at his stats and the situation that he finds himself going into might calm some of the unabridged optimism flowing from some parts of Manchester as well as large sections of Dorset (a traditional stronghold for United fans).
Even Marcus Edwards scores in Portugal!
Yes, that's right, Tottenham's very own prodigal son, the Lionel Messi of Haringey is a force to be reckoned with in the Portuguese Primeira League. Indeed, if you take away the penalty kicks that Fernandes has scored for Sporting this year, then he averages a goal or an assist every 0.65 games compared to Marcus Edwards a man who wasn't deemed good enough for the Premier League who averages 0.45 goals or assists per 90mins. Add to that the fact that Edwards is plugging away at mid-table Vitoria-Guimaraes while Fernandes was plying his trade at one of the traditional big 3 in Portugal surrounded by a higher calibre of player and you can see what I'm angling at - either goals come a little more cheaply in Portugal or the entire English based scouting network was wrong and 20-year-old haircut on legs Marcus Edwards is the Messiah!
The defending looks about what you'd get if you set your game on FIFA to the easiest possible level
Fernandes the flat track bully
Here I'm borrowing a term from cricket that we use to describe a batsman who scores heavily when conditions are in his favour but tends to struggle when they are not. Fernandes, for example, has never scored or assisted in a game against consistant league challengers Porto. Similarly, he has scored just 1 and assisted 1 goal in the Champions League with both contributions coming against perennial whipping boys Olympiacos and even in the Europa League where his overall stats are once again very impressive, they are unpinned by multiple contributions against the likes of Vorskla, LASK and Qarabağ, the kind of teams that your average fan would struggle to point out on a map let alone tell you anything about their footballing prowess.
It's a similar story at international level where Fernandes has contributed for Portugal in their last couple of games against minnows Luxembourg and Lithuania but failed to register a goal or an assist in the Nations League last year against the likes of Italy, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Poland. Even with inflated transfer fees, you would have thought that £65million would buy you a player with a little bit more of a proven track record at the very top.
A history of big-money flops
The pressure was on United Chairman Ed Woodward to bring in a big-money signing following a disappointing summer transfer window and the growing discontent amongst the fan base. Unfortunately, Woodward doesn't have a great record of getting success on the pitch when he opens his wallet as the likes of Sanchez, Pogba and Di Maria all players also brought to United to add creativity and goals have shown.
Less the Theatre of Dreams and more the stuff of nightmares, United have invested in countless big money flops over recent seasons
To be fair, moving to Old Trafford has always been a challenge and even in the glory years under Ferguson, there were very few players who came in and made an instant impact with a good deal more never finding their feet at United. Of course, back then The Red Devils had a settled and successful squad that could absorb a player coming in and needing some time to come to terms with his new surroundings but things look very different these days and Fernandes will be expected to have an immediate impact on a side whose season threatens to dissolve into mediocrity once again. With Solksjaer and Woodward already feeling the wrath of the United faithful it is hardly the ideal situation for any player to come into let alone one who is going to have to adapt to a different culture and league with the added pressure of a massive transfer fee hanging over his head.
For me the Fernandes signing represents less of a calculated purchase and more of a last roll of the dice by a chairman and a manager who could well be out of a job soon if their punt doesn't pay off.