Former Premier League striker Gabby Agbonlahor (Picture: talkSPORT)
Former Premier League striker Gabby Agbonlahor believes Bruno Fernandes may come to feel like he ‘wasted’ the best years of his career by playing at Manchester United.
Fernandes has been, without doubt, United’s most consistent performer since joining the club from Sporting for an initial fee of around £47million back in 2020.
The 31-year-old has racked up 105 goals and 103 appearances in 319 appearances for the club, while also winning the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award on four occasions.
And despite playing the first of the season in a deeper role under Ruben Amorim, his two assists at the weekend in a 3-1 win over Aston Villa means only Erling Haaland (29) has bettered his goal contribution tally (23) in the league this campaign.
Discussing Fernandes’ current form, former Villa striker Agbonlahor insisted United would be in a vastly different position without their talismanic captain.
‘I am scared to think where Manchester United would have been in the last five years, especially this season, without Bruno Fernandes,’ he told talkSPORT.
’27 Premier League appearances, seven goals, 16 assists. No matter how bad they have been, he has turned up.’
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Bruno Fernandes is enjoying a superb season (Picture: Getty)
While Fernandes has broken several records during his time at Old Trafford, the Portuguese midfielder has only won two trophies with the Red Devils: The FA Cup in 2024 and Carabao Cup in 2023.
And Agbonlahor wonders whether not having a league or Champions League trophy on his resume may have Fernandes regretting his decision to stay at United for so long.
He added: ‘But I said this in a previous show a few months ago. He is 32 in September, he has won one FA Cup, one League Cup for Manchester United.
Michael Carrick has reiterated the club’s desire to keep Fernandes (Picture: Getty)
‘Could he leave Manchester United one day and look back and say, ‘Did I waste my best years at Manchester United?’
‘Because you look at someone like De Bruyne – won it all at Manchester City.
‘But Bruno Fernandes, he is that good, he deserves to leave the Premier League winning the Premier League and also Champions League for me – that good.’
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Fernandes is under contract at United until 2027, with the option of a further year, but reports suggest he has a £56.6 million (€65m) release clause in his current deal, which can be triggered by overseas clubs.
But interim head coach Michael Carrick insisted at the weekend that the club have no desire to let their skipper leave in the summer.
‘In terms of the club and moving forward, it’s difficult for me to get involved in too much of that,’ the United interim manager told reporters.
‘Bruno is definitely not someone we’d want to lose, I can say that.
‘This summer and beyond that, it’s difficult for me to kind of go too far with that.
‘But certainly, he’s important for us and he’s definitely not one we would want to lose.’
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