Gary Neville has revealed his belief that Bruno Fernandes is the only successful signing Manchester United have made in the last ten years, and stressed that Ruben Amorim must improve the club’s recruitment.
United have largely endured a torrid time in the last decade, since the departure of the great Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013. The likes of David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, José Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjær and Erik ten Hag have all failed to bring the same level of success to the north-west club that the Scottish legend was able to produce, and Amorim will be the latest to have a go when he takes charge in the Old Trafford dugout from November 11th.
This period of failure has coincided with outlandish spending on a number of players, who have experienced varying levels of success. Neville has claimed that just one addition in this time frame, the club’s current captain, Fernandes, has been successful.
Neville Claims Fernandes is United’s Only Successful Signing in Last Decade
He’s done ‘more than I thought he would’
Arriving from Sporting in January 2020 for a fee reportedly worth up to £68 million, Fernandes has certainly impressed in English football, and is now considered one of the 20 best players in the Premier League. Leading United to FA Cup and League Cup triumphs in recent years, the Portuguese has netted 82 goals in 248 appearances for the Red Devils.
While the 30-year-old would’ve hoped to have been the cornerstone of a more silverware-laden era, it would be hard to argue that he hasn’t fulfilled his own individual potential in a United shirt. Lambasting the club’s recruitment across the last ten years on Sky Sports (via the Mirror), Neville went as far as declaring Fernandes as the only fruitful acquisition in that period:
“He [Amorim] has to get the best out of the players. The players need to take responsibility for what’s happened in the last 10 years. The club have signed a lot of players that other clubs wanted and when those players have arrived at Manchester United they’ve deteriorated.
Why is that? It could be the coach, it could be the players, it could be the environment is too big for them, whatever it is it has to change because if he [Amorim] doesn’t change that he will fall the same way the rest of them have.
There are managers that have come here that have been tried and tested and successful, there are players that have come here with great potential and ones that you thought would be good signings for the club.
Only really Bruno I can think of in 10 years has signed for the club and done more than I thought he would. I can’t think of any other player. That’s £1.8bn spent in the last 10 years, that’s one thing that has to change.”
Fernandes’ Premier League Statistics 2023/24 | |
|---|---|
Appearances | 35 |
Goals | 10 |
Assists | 8 |
Shots Per 90 | 2.6 |
Expected Goals Per 90 | 0.29 |
Key Passes Per 90 | 3.29 |
Expected Assists Per 90 | 0.29 |
Pass Accuracy | 73% |
Progressive Passes Per 90 | 8.58 |
All Statistics via FBRef – correct as of 04/11/2024