Rooney warns Fernandes 'explosion' is coming as United languish 13th after six games

Wayne Rooney has warned that Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes is on the verge of a public outburst, as the club sit 13th in the Premier League after winning just one of their opening six matches under manager Michael Carrick.

Fernandes, United’s top scorer this season with four goals and three assists, has been carrying the team’s attacking burden — but Rooney believes the strain is beginning to show. Speaking on the Stick to United podcast, the United legend said: “He’s fed up. I genuinely do think he looks, ‘Oh, here we go again.’ There are only so many times… He has carried the team, but sometimes you need taking out of that position, of that role, to breathe again.”

Rooney went further, suggesting the situation could soon boil over. “I feel like now you can see it building up and there’s going to be an explosion with him if this carries on. He’s not scared to come out and voice his opinion. So there is going to be that explosion if this carries on the way it’s going.”

The former England striker also pointed to a structural problem in Carrick’s midfield, arguing that pairing Kobbie Mainoo and Youri Tielemans as a two is leaving United exposed. “For me, you need that three in midfield at the minute because they’re getting outrun, they’re getting outplayed. All of a sudden, then you’ve got Mainoo and Tielemans, who are not the quickest and not the most mobile, to cover the full width of the pitch as two midfield players, and they can’t do it.”

Carrick was handed the job at the start of this season on the back of an impressive end to the 2025/26 campaign, having taken over from Ruben Amorim and guided United to a third-place finish. But the early weeks of the new term have been a sobering contrast. United’s only win came in a 5-2 defeat of Ipswich Town; they have since lost to both Hull City and Manchester City, and were held to a 1-1 draw by ten-man Tottenham in their most recent outing. Draws against Everton and Fulham have compounded the frustration.

Not everyone is ready to write off Carrick, however. Paul Pogba, who made 233 appearances for the club across two spells, urged patience when speaking about his former teammate. “It’s just the start of the season, there’s nothing much to say — the season is very long,” Pogba said. “He showed last season when he came, everybody said he was the manager that will change everything. Now that the results don’t come they say maybe he’s too young. One day or the other it can change a lot, they just have to give them time and it will be fine.”

United face a trip to Leeds United next, a fixture that will do little to ease the pressure on Carrick if results continue to disappoint.