Bardsley warns flat Fernandes could leave Man United in serious trouble this season

Phil Bardsley has raised the alarm over Bruno Fernandes’ early-season form, warning that Manchester United will struggle if their captain cannot rediscover his best — and describing the club’s start to the 2026/27 Premier League campaign as “alarming”.

Fernandes, 32, was central to United’s revival under Michael Carrick last season, setting a single-season Premier League record of 21 assists as the club recovered from a difficult spell under Ruben Amorim to finish third and secure Champions League football. This term, however, the Portuguese midfielder has managed just one assist despite a hat-trick against Ipswich.

“Bruno Fernandes looks a bit flat to me this year,” said Bardsley. “Being brutally honest, and I’m his biggest advocate, I’m his biggest fan, I think he’s amazing in what he does for the team — you can never question the effort and the work he puts in that people probably don’t see beyond the goals. He just looks a little bit flat in himself this year, and that’s a bit of a concern, because we know how important he’s been for the last four or five seasons.”

Bardsley added that if Fernandes cannot find his spark, the consequences for the squad could be significant. “If our best player is struggling, it’s going to be difficult,” he said.

The former Scotland international also pointed to United’s opening-day 2-0 defeat at Hull City — a newly-promoted side — as a troubling indicator of wider problems. “The whole game was a bit alarming for me, honestly,” Bardsley said. “Hull were brilliant on the day, but body language, fitness, energy — there was just a lack of everything.”

He continued: “They took that into the Everton game where they went ahead twice, thinking ‘come on then, put the game to bed,’ in the 88th minute when we went 2-1 up, and we conceded again. Then the derby was just obviously really, really disappointing. Down to 10 men for a large part of the game and we can’t unlock a defence — not asking enough questions, not crossing enough balls.”

Bardsley also highlighted defensive frailty as a recurring theme, noting that the solidity Carrick built last season has not carried over. “Defensively we’re at twos and threes, which is disappointing because after Michael Carrick came last year we looked quite strong, we looked solid,” he said.

With Fernandes’ influence diminished and results failing to reflect the optimism generated by last season’s third-place finish, Carrick faces an early test of whether he can steady a side that looked transformed just months ago.