Evra urges Fernandes to become United's maestro after PFA Player of the Year win

Patrice Evra has declared he does not want Bruno Fernandes to win the PFA Player of the Year award again — not as a slight on the Portuguese captain, but as a challenge for him to evolve into a true orchestrator at Manchester United.

Fernandes claimed the PFA prize after a record-breaking season in which he set a new assists benchmark and helped drag United into third place with a strong run in the second half of the campaign. His individual quality has repeatedly rescued points for the club, but Evra believes that level of reliance on one man is ultimately a ceiling rather than a foundation.

“Bruno will keep winning all the personal awards, but I want him to make his teammates play better,” Evra said. “I’m asking all of Man United, does Bruno make the team play better? Does he control the game? No. But does he win you games? Yes. That’s more important, but now that he’s won the Player of the Year award, I don’t want to see him win it again. I want Bruno to play a part of the team, to be the maestro, to control the game, to dictate the game. I know what I’m talking about.”

The concern feels timely. United were beaten 2-0 by Hull City in their opening fixture, with Michael Carrick’s Championship play-off winners providing a sharp reality check for the former champions. Fernandes was unable to turn the tide on the day, underlining Evra’s point that individual brilliance has its limits without a supporting structure.

Evra also weighed in on United’s midfield selection, arguing that Kobbie Mainoo should be preferred to new signing Youri Tielemans. At Hull, Tielemans was given the nod ahead of the academy product, a decision Evra disagrees with.

“If you want Bruno to play as the number 10, then fair enough, but you need a midfielder behind him to control the tempo,” he said. “Someone like Kobbie Mainoo. Bruno, Mainoo and Baleba are our best midfield. Tielemans is too soft, I prefer Mainoo.”

Evra’s broader argument is that Fernandes, now at the peak of his powers, has the capacity to reshape how United function as a collective rather than continuing to paper over structural cracks with personal heroics. Whether the coaching staff share that vision remains to be seen.