Man United legend Roy Keane got into a debate with former Arsenal man Ian Wright over the quality and character of Bruno Fernandes ahead of the Sheffield United man.
Wright had a lot of nice words for the midfielder, as he said on the Stick to Football podcast: “I think Bruno is a winner. He’s frustrated. Whatever we say, he has his faults where he waves his arms but he’s the kind of player that is trying (to change things).”
To this, Keane snapped back by replying: “He’s won nothing in his career, he’s 29 years of age. What has he won in his career?”
The ex-Arsenal man had a sound response to this, stating: “(I appreciate) he’s won nothing. But, irrespective of wanting to be a winner, his standards are high. If you take Bruno out of Man United we’re talking about players who haven’t improved. If he’s not doing what he’s doing United are nowhere near where they are.”
Keane heard this and gave his own explanation about his perception of Bruno, adding: “I think he is a talented boy. But does he help people out and does he make others around him better?
“The answer is 100 per cent no. He does like to dig them out, which is fine, but you’ve also got to drag the others along. Would you like to be in that United dressing room today with these guys going… ‘not sure about him, I think he’s OK when we’re winning but we’re not going to be winning every time’.
“How do you stop that momentum and flex your muscles in games? That’s what I want. We talk about talented players but sometimes it’s about personalities in big games and getting you over the line in big games.”
When Wright reiterated by claiming that Fernandes repeatedly ‘saves the club’ from trouble, Roy responded: “Saves the club? Look, he’s won nothing in his career. He’s won nothing in his career. Look at his CV. if he’s one of your best players there’s a responsibility.”
Fernandes was able to (at least temporarily) silence doubters like Keane with a fantastic performance in the 4-2 win over Sheffield United and has now scored 15 goals and provided 11 assists so far this season – the most for any player in the squad.
