Ruben Amorim warned Bruno Fernandes 'doesn't understand' what he's doing at Man Utd

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Ruben Amorim has been told that Bruno Fernandes ‘doesn’t understand’ the role he’s been asked to play at Old Trafford. The Portuguese midfielder has been a key player under Amorim during his time at the club.

Despite still being productive from an attacking standpoint, the former Sporting Lisbon star has been tasked with a slightly deeper position on a number of occasions. But Fernandes has struggled to have an impact when given more defensive responsibility.

Former Chelsea star Craig Burley has now claimed that the midfielder does not know how to play the role. Speaking on ESPN, he said: “They have got no legs in midfield, we’ve talked about this with Casemiro and Ugarte. Bruno Fernandes is playing there, but it’s not his position.

“He doesn’t understand the defensive aspects and the positional aspects of being a deeper-lying midfielder. And it also negates, which we’ve talked about at length, his ability to influence 30 yards further up the field.”

Burley is not the only one to have highlighted Fernandes’ issues when it comes to his new position. Speaking after last month’s Manchester derby defeat, Gary Neville claimed that he could not play the role against the better sides in the Premier League .

“The midfield is a massive problem and we know that, United fans know that, [Manuel] Ugarte and Fernandes today,” he said on the Gary Neville Podcast.

“Ugarte is not good enough, and Bruno is not a player who plays in a deep-lying midfield in a two, he can do, I think, if United are at home and they’re playing against a team who are dominating possession, you can maybe bring him a bit deeper and get away with it.

“But against any team who have good possession and good players, and that’s most teams in the Premier League, Bruno is always probably going to struggle in a midfield two.

He added: “Bruno is United’s best player by a mile, but this system has to have him as a one of a two in midfield or as one of a front three, of which he is neither of these two positions.”

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Fernandes has actually spoken out on the demands put on him by Amorim, and claimed that he would be willing to play anywhere. Speaking during the international break, he said: “I love playing football, whatever the position.

“They can put me at full-back, winger, goalkeeper. I’ll always give my best. Everyone has their preferences, but we have to adapt to the coach’s ideas.”

United are back in action this weekend as they take on fierce rivals Liverpool at Anfield.

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