It is the first honor of his life. Bruno Fernandes (32, Manchester United) was finally named the Premier League player of the year.
The Premier League office announced on the 23rd (Korean time) on its website, "Manchester United captain Fernandes has won the player of the year award. It is his first award. Fernandes is the leading figure who led the team to secure qualification for the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League (UCL) this season for Manchester United."
He is already a two-time winner. Earlier, Fernandes clinched the Football Writers' Association (FWA) player of the year award. It is the first time in 16 years that a Manchester United player has achieved this since Wayne Rooney in 2010. And Fernandes earned recognition by also securing the Premier League player of the year award. This, too, is Manchester United's first player of the year recipient since Nemanja Vidić in the 2010-2011 season.
That reflects his overwhelming performance. Fernandes has recorded eight goals and 20 assists in 34 league matches this season. In the March match against Crystal Palace he had one goal and one assist, becoming only the third player in Manchester United history to reach the club milestone of "100 goals-100 assists." He even achieved it in just 319 matches, boasting the fastest pace in club history.
He is on the verge of writing another chapter in history. Fernandes set up Bryan Mbeumo's goal in the 37th-round match against Nottingham Forest to lead Manchester United to a 3-2 victory, reaching 20 league assists this season. That ranks with legends such as Kevin De Bruyne and Thierry Henry for the most assists in a single Premier League season.
Fernandes has every chance of surpassing De Bruyne and Henry. If he adds just one more assist in the final match of the season against BRIGHTEN on the 25th, he could finish alone at the top for most assists in a single season. It would be a new milestone for the entire Premier League, not just Manchester United.
After the Nottingham match, Fernandes said, "I'm happy about both the assist and the win. I'm glad we can finish the season on a high note." He added, "I've reached my 20th assist, and now there's only one match left. Let's see what happens next! I'm truly happy to set the record for most assists in the Premier League."
The detailed numbers are also overwhelming. The Premier League emphasized, "Fernandes has created a total of 132 chances this season, setting the record for most chances created in the league. That is 43 more than second-place Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool)."
Fernandes's performance is more remarkable because he was unable to play in his natural position throughout the first half of the season. Until earlier this year he had been deployed as a three-line midfielder under coach Rúben Amorim and did not accumulate many attacking points.
But everything changed after Michael Carrick took over as interim manager. Fernandes took on a more attacking role like before, moving closer to goal, and then added 13 assists, taking off spectacularly.
Thanks to that, Manchester United also rebounded, securing third place in the league with 68 points (19 wins, 11 draws, 7 losses) based on 37 rounds, and returning to the UCL stage after three years. Considering they finished 15th last season, it is an incredible improvement. It is not at all surprising that Fernandes won the Premier League player of the year award, which is decided by combining fan votes and votes from a panel of football experts.
Now Fernandes is aiming for five individual awards, including his 21st assist of the season and the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) player of the year award. Manchester United said, "Fernandes has already received the Matt Busby player of the year award five times, has won the players' player of the year award two years in a row, and was named FWA player of the year. He is also likely to win the PFA player of the year award," expressing their expectations.
[Photo] Premier League, Manchester United social media.
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