Fernandes was handed the captain’s armband by Erik ten Hag in 2023 after the former manager relieved Harry Maguire of his duties. ..Continue Reading
Despite being one of United’s top players and recently extending his contract until 2027, Fernandes has faced heavy criticism regarding his leadership skills.
Graeme Souness recently claimed the 30-year-old had become a liability after receiving his third red card of the season in the Boxing Day defeat at Wolves.
With Manchester United experiencing one of the lowest points in their history, Amorim has admitted that his team is ‘starving for leaders on the pitch.’
The United head coach made these remarks on Friday while discussing the unexpected decision to extend Maguire’s contract, praising the England defender as ‘a leader.’
‘We need him a lot and also he has to improve as a leader, because we all know the situation that he had here but we need him a lot in this moment so we are going to trigger happily the option for Harry.’
And despite having the captaincy stripped off him, Man United legend Evra believes Maguire deserves another chance to skipper the team.
Replying to an Instagram post that shared the news of Maguire’s contract extension, the former defender wrote: ‘Give him the armband back!!!!
‘After all he been through showing resilience and leadership.’
Maguire was anticipated to leave Old Trafford after being sidelined by Ten Hag, but despite nearly moving to West Ham, he stayed and has become a valuable squad member.
The 31-year-old captained United in their Carabao Cup win over Barnsley in September, but Lisandro Martinez has taken the armband in matches where Fernandes has been suspended.
Fernandes is expected to resume his captaincy on Sunday as United travel to Anfield to face their arch-rivals and current league leaders, Liverpool.
With United losing five of their last six league matches and sitting 14th in the table, few expect them to get a positive result from the game.
