Neville and Carragher warn Man Utd are 'struggling' after Fernandes shunted wide again

Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher have warned that Manchester United are showing signs of serious difficulty after head coach Michael Carrick continued to shift Bruno Fernandes away from his natural central role, most recently deploying him as a false nine in the 1-1 Premier League draw at Elland Road against Leeds United.

The tactical dilemma stems from United’s summer midfield overhaul. The club signed Andrey Santos, Carlos Baleba and Youri Tielemans during the transfer window, and all three started in the Champions League defeat against Atletico Madrid — a game in which Fernandes was pushed out to the right. Carrick adjusted the formation for the Leeds fixture, but the solution of a false nine did little to satisfy either pundit.

Carragher explained the core tension before kick-off: “The problem when you put three midfield players in there is what you do with your best player, Fernandes. He won’t be happy playing in a wide position. You’re almost shoehorning in your best player. That can maybe cause a problem going forward.”

The former Liverpool defender also pointed to a collective pressing issue, arguing that individual effort without coordinated movement was leaving United exposed. “There’s no point Baleba running out and pressing if the rest of the midfield don’t come with him as well. They need to work as a collective. I think that’s Man Utd’s biggest problem in the games I’ve watched this season.”

Neville, himself a former United defender, drew a direct line back to Ruben Amorim’s earlier tactical experiments with the squad. “There was a time when Amorim was playing Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro in midfield. Then when he wanted to make it more solid, he would put someone else in there and push Bruno wide. We’ve been down this road; we’ve seen it; it’s not ideal.”

Neville was unambiguous about what the pattern signals. “When you’re moving your best player — the PFA Player of the Year, the best player in the league last year — into a wide area, you know that you’re struggling.”

The 1-1 result at Leeds leaves United searching for consistency, with the question of how to get the best from Fernandes in a three-man midfield still unresolved heading into their next fixture.