And it isn't necessarily a bad one.
Sometimes managers complain about not having a squad big enough and when it comes to football, I think it's preferable to have too many players than too few.
With the MUFC skipper now staying (bro turned down life-changing Saudi money to stay loyal to a relegation-threatened, shit United 🙌😭), where is his best role in the side?
Some would say on the bench 🤷♂️ (which may not necessarily be false) but with so many midfielders, it will be tough for manager Ruben Amorim to find the best position for a player he gets hard for whenever talking about him.
Considering how desperate Amorim was to keep his captain, you can bet he will play every single minute even more so with fewer games next season.
Who needs European football anyway? So overrated 🥱.
*cries incandescently in a corner*
The 31 year old will play all the time despite the new recruit (recruits?) and those already at the club (Mount, Mainoo, Zirkzee, Amad). We know how influential Bruno is to the team as we look lost without him.
But is he a no 10? Is he a no 8?
We all feel that he is best suited as the CAM but for some reason, Amorim has used his captain deeper on quite a few occasions. He sometimes preferred the likes of Aljeandro Garnacho, Mason Mount, Joshua Zirkzee or Amad as the no 10s with Bruno having to be content with a spot in central midfield.
He's shown that he can be great and shit in both positions on several occasions which is why we have this dillema in the first place. He can be quite frustrating and inconsistent and then out of nowhere, will score a banger from 30-yards out with his left-foot whilst his right wrist is bandaged and singlehandedly win us the game.
You never know what you're going to get.
The fact that the 3-4-3/3-4-2-1 formation uses two no 10s makes it a little different to what Fernandes was previously used to under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Erik ten Hag. I feel that as that lone CAM, Bruno was free to do as he will. With a partner, he's had to be more disciplined in his positioning in particular, but all-round play as well.
And as we know, Bruno Fernandes and discipline don't go hand-in-hand.
This is also part of the reason as to why he doesn't necessarily work as a CM. On the occasions where United play weaker opposition, which is hard to find considering how shite we are, the player that wears United's no 8 can work as part of the midfield pivot.
Playing stronger opponents though, and that is where he can be found out as he often leaves his midfield partner isolated which results in them being overrun.
So because of not knowing where his best position lies, I asked Grok AI to help me out.
Upon putting the request in on which is Bruno's best position, it said that we should've sold him to Saudi.
Okay, it didn't say that but I'm sure that there were some that would've hoped for this to be so.
What it actually said was that there's few who are better than him in the final third as his expected assists per 90 and his ability to deliver key passes makes him deadly in attack.
The goals he's scored is also unmatched as he has 54 goals in 159 games in the league as a no 10 and not to mention he is the only true cluth player we have at United.
If anyone is going to do anything, it's going to be Bruno.
This clutch thing can also be done from central midfield although we see it more often in the final third rather than from deeper.
However tactically, it says that because this 3-4-3 system requires pressing and fluidity, it can restrict Bruno's freedom as a CAM. It also mentions positional discipline which is something we've complained about with Bruno for a while.
When it comes to the no 8 role though, there are reasons why he can be effective there as well. In fact, he's been so effective (if you want to call it that) that Amorim has used the magnifico as a CM in more games (20-25) since he's been manager than as a CAM (10-15 games).
As the likes of Casemiro, Manuel Ugarte, Kobbie Mainoo and Toby Collyer don't possess that ability to play key passes from deep, this gives Bruno the advantage over them. That vision he has is unmatched in our squad whether it be from deeper or elsewhere.
Against Man City, he created 4 chances when playing as a no 8/no 10 in the 2-1 Derby victory last season.
He still maintains that goal threat even when playing deeper despite being further away from the more dangerous areas and the fact that he has ridiculous amounts of energy and stamina means that he could work in this position as all no 8s need to have these attributes.
But due to the fact that he is a natural risk-taker, his habit of wanting to go for the spectacular from deep means that he can often give away possession too cheaply. Losing the ball in midfield means that your defense and goal becomes easily exposed to the opposition.
From all this information, Grok concludes that the skipper is actually better suited as a no 8 in Amorim's 3-4-3. Here, he can be a part of both the build-up and attacking plays, and that due to his style, it could provide more balance to have Bruno in midfield alongside someone like Ugarte or Casemiro, a more defensive midfielder.
Final Thoughts
What Grok has just said makes me believe that this is why Amorim prefers his captain to be in that midfield pivot. He can dictate the play better than anyone else, remains influential, and still produces great output.
I just feel skeptical due to his positional il-discipline and sometimes being out of the game when he plays deeper. As we lack that creativity in the final third as well, not having Bruno in that area could affect our overall attacking output.
I mean, you can't rely on Rasmus and Garnacho is leaving plus he is selfish besides. Amad is the only real creator in that team apart from Bruno.
With all that being said though, as Cunha has joined and perhaps Mbeumo as well, maybe we won't need Bruno to play higher up the field as often. Those two along with Amad, Mount, Mainoo and potentially academy players, could do that job just fine.
Most of the time, we should be (should be) playing teams that are worse than us meaning that we won't need to have two defensive midfielders in the pivot. It can allow for something a little more attacking and risky because we would be expected to control the game. Bruno is good at doing this.
And while we may look like we don't know how to football whenever the magnifico isn't in the side on the odd occasion he is absent, we don't truly know whether we are better off with or without him in the team. One game sure, we are terrible, but what about four or five games without Bruno, at least as a starter? Maybe then we'll see more of a team and one that isn't so reliant on the captain.
I do believe Amorim will start Fernandes every game particularly because as he's said on many occasions, he wants Bruno to be part of this project and we won't be playing so many games.
Now that we have reinforcements in the attack and potentially more to come however, perhaps this will be the first season where United aren't so dependable on Bruno? Maybe this will also take some weight off of his shoulders in that he isn't the one who has to do everything.
We'll just have to wait and see.
I personally still think he's best as a no 10 but with Cunha and others, maybe he could work as a no 8.
But what do you think? Where does the skipper's best role preside?
Where will Ruben Amorim use Bruno Fernandes in 3-4-3 system? | Bruno Fernandes: Creator: Justin Setterfield | Credit: Getty Images Copyright: 2025 Getty Images via Man Utd News