Jason McAteer has called Bruno Fernandes' leadership into question amid another poor start to the season by Manchester United.
The Red Devils are 14th in the Premier League as the international break begins, with just one win from their last five league matches.
Fernandes, United's captain since 2023, has made little impact to begin the campaign as he's still awaiting his first goal of the season after 11 appearances in all competitions, following a 15-goal campaign the season previous.
For former Bolton Wanderers and Ireland midfielder McAteer, Fernandes hasn't offered enough and maybe needs to be in a different team to miaximise his talents.
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"I think Bruno Fernandes is a fantastic talent, he’s just in the wrong environment," McAteer told Gambling Zone.
"I want to see more from him and more maturity from him. Manchester United are in turmoil right now and you need your captain to demonstrate proper leadership in these types of situations. He’s so petulant. He should be setting an example.
"There’s a lot of really good young players in that United team: [Alejandro] Garnacho, [Kobbie] Mainoo, [Rasmus] Hojlund.
"These are really good young players. Bruno Fernandes needs to be setting an example, and getting sent off in consecutive games is not the example to set.
"It’s been a really difficult period for Manchester United. They’ve started the season terribly.
As McAteer noted, Fernandes was shown a red card in United's 3-0 loss to visiting Tottenham on Sept. 29 and was also ejected from their 3-3 Europa League draw at Porto four days later, although he was back in the starting lineup for the scoreless draw at Aston Villa on Oct. 6.
Fernandes simply needs to control his emotions better, McAteer said.
"I’m really disappointed in Bruno Fernandes’ contributions in games and how he’s behaved," he explained. "That’s not how a Manchester United captain should be showing his attributes or behaving.
"His attitude and performances, considering the role he has at a giant of a football club in Manchester United, have been the biggest disappointment for me in the Premier League this season."
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