The Scout evaluates the potential of Bruno Fernandez (£8.2m) as a short-term solution for coaches’ midfield in Fantasy Premier League.

manchester unitedSince Ruud van Nistelrooy was appointed interim coach, the Germany playmaker has immediately increased his performance.

Fernandes scored twice in the Dutchman’s first game in charge last week, a 5-2 EFL Cup win over city ​​of leicester. He then took advantage of his penalty duties to score the home team’s goal in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea last weekend, scoring his season-high 10 points.

Man Utd’s upcoming schedule certainly increases the appeal of investing in Fernandes ahead of the arrival of Ruben Amorim as their new head coach.

According to the Accessory difficulty rating (FDR), each of his next three games scores only two.

Manchester United’s next three games

*1 = easiest possible fixation, 5 = most difficult possible fixation

That run, coincidentally, begins with a rematch of their home fixture against Leicester, in what will be Van Nistelrooy’s last game in charge.

On matchday 11, Man Utd will face another promoted team, ipswich townin his first match with Amorim.

And there will also be a sense of occasion for the first Premier League home game since the Portuguese’s tenure against Everton before the calendar quickly turns against them, with visits to Arsenal and city ​​of manchester during the next three weeks of play.

Is Fernandes Man Utd the fittest option in Fantasy?

There is no denying that Fernandes has had a disappointing start to Fantasy 2024/25, with just one goal and two assists to his name.

The good thing is that two of those attacking returns came in his last two home games: in addition to his penalty against Chelsea, he provided an assist against Brentford in game week 8.

By analyzing underlying statistics from the last four weeks of play, coaches can get a clearer picture of a player’s goal and assist potential in Fantasy.

Fernandes’ all-round playing style immediately stands out for his involvement in the big chances, situations in which the player is expected to score.

He has had three of them, including his penalty against Chelsea, and created five more chances, meaning he has been involved in a total of eight big chances in gameweeks 7-10.

Not only is he the best for Man Utd, he ranks FIRST among all Fantasy players.

The Portuguese’s eight key passes are also a team-leading total and underline his superior assist prospects. Fernandes’ 15 shots and seven shots into the area are only surpassed Alejandro Garnacho (£6.3m), who were aged 18 and 13 respectively.

Fernandes’ goal threat GW7-10

How Fernandes’ form compares to that of the top scoring midfielders

A comparison of Fernandes with the four highest scoring Fantasy midfielders – Mohamed Salah (£12.8 million), Cole Palmer (£11.0 million), Bryan Mbeumo (£7.8 million) and Bukayo Saka (£10.1m): Strengthens its appeal as a short-term investment.

Over the last four weeks of play, Fernandes’ eight big-chance appearances are THREE more than Salah and Saka, and DOUBLE Palmer’s total of four.

The Portuguese has also taken 15 shots, more than all his rivals, as the following table shows.

Midfielders’ goal threat compares to GW7-10

What does the data tell us about the expected objectives for 2024/25?

Expected goals (xG) data provides an additional element to Fantasy managers’ decision making.

The xG metric measures, on a scale between zero and one, the probability that a shot will result in a goal, where zero represents an impossible chance of scoring and one represents the chance that a player would score every time.

Similarly, expected assists (xA) measure the probability that a completed pass will become an assist for a goal.

A player’s overall attacking potential is then measured by combining his xG and xA to create his expected goal involvement score (xGI).

The numbers indicate that Fernandes has had the goal threat of Mbeumo and the creative potential of Salah during the first 10 game weeks.

In terms of goal threat, Fernandes’ xG rating of 3.75 is almost identical to Mbeumo’s 3.78. But while the Brentford star has scored EIGHT goals, Fernandes has only scored one.

When it comes to assist potential, the Manchester United star has recorded an xA of 1.79 compared to Salah’s 1.77. However, Fernandes’ two assists are less than HALF his rival’s five.

Fernandes’ output of one goal and two assists with an xGI of 5.54 means he has underperformed his xGI of 2.54, giving him a “xGI delta” score of -2.54, the SECOND WORST of any player this season.

Expected data of midfielders compared GW1-10

Ultimately, while the xGs serve to highlight how frustrating a pick this can be for the Portuguese, they also help to demonstrate that Fernandes still compares very favorably to top-scoring midfielders in terms of potential attacking returns.