Former Premier League striker Gabby Agbonlahor has revealed which Manchester United player he’d have loathed to have as a teammate.
The Red Devils’ fluctuating form continued on Wednesday night as they had to settle for a 1-1 draw against FC Twente in the Europa League.
Fernandes’ struggles continued in United’s disappointing draw to FC TwenteGetty
Christian Eriksen opened the scoring for them but was at fault in the buildup to their opponent’s equaliser in the 68th minute.
Club captain Bruno Fernandes has previously been a reliable source of goals and assists when scorelines are going against United.
However, he couldn’t display his quality against FC Twente and one moment in particular appeared to irk Agbonlahor.
The ex-Aston Villa striker and talkSPORT host spoke on Breakfast the morning after and complained about Fernandes’ body language.
“I would have hated to play with him because I saw yesterday there was a pass he played into [Joshua] Zirkzee,” he said.
“It was his misplaced pass, you run after it and then he throws his arms up in the air. It’s like, ‘Stop throwing your arms up in the air, you’ve given it away, not me mate.’”
Agbonlahor’s comments come not long after talkSPORT’s Alan Pardew called for Erik ten Hag to remove the captaincy from Fernandes.
The former West Ham and Newcastle boss believes the Portuguese international’s style of play hinders his ability to lead a team.
“You’ve got your skipper out there, you’ve got a technical skipper, when you’ve got a technician as a skipper, I think it’s always dangerous because they’re going to have off games,” he said after United’s 3-0 defeat to Liverpool.
“Even [Christian] Eriksen in his prime, [Michel] Platini in his prime, they’d have the off day. They were technical players.”
Fernandes’ frustrations were clear to see at Old TraffordGetty
talkSPORT’s Agbonlahor would not have enjoyed playing with the United captaintalkSPORT
Pardew added: “Today, it was never Fernandes because they [United] never had the ball enough. Defensively, he’s not been called upon. How can he lead the team? It’s a very difficult one for him. I actually think it would be better for him as a footballer to take it off him.
“I think it might free him up a bit, let him be a bit more free-minded. He’s probably worrying about the back four, worrying about the wingers. You don’t really know how to deal with it. I don’t know, I think it’s a hamper to him.”
Fernandes has provided four assists in all competitions this season although is yet to add to his current goal tally of 79 for the club.
The 30-year-old proved key in United’s Carabao Cup and FA Cup successes over the past two seasons but it appears as though he’s struggling to make a positive impact on the side.
United’s home clash against Tottenham on Sunday will be a great opportunity for Fernandes to rediscover the form that saw him score 15 goals and assist another 13 last season.
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