Ruben Amorim told he only has two Man Utd leaders after contract extension decision
Manchester United have suffered from a lack of leadership during their struggles this season and one former player believes Ruben Amorim can only call upon two players to exert influence
by Scott Trotter · The MirrorManchester United have just two leaders in the dressing room to help carry head coach Ruben Amorim's message.
Club captain Bruno Fernandes and ex-captain Harry Maguire are the only players to have the capacity and presence to wear the armband, according to former Red Devil Louis Saha. The forward believes Amorim has too few players capable of handling the responsibility.
Fernandes was appointed captain in the summer of 2023 under Erik ten Hag, and took on the role from Maguire. The Portuguese midfielder has seen his captaincy questioned by the likes of former United captain Roy Keane.
The 30-year-old expressed his frustration with his team-mates following United's draw with Liverpool last weekend. Saha believes such demands make Fernandes even more important to the club.
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“I love Bruno Fernandes’s performances – people criticise him but I’ve always defended him," Saha told Paddy Power. "He’s not playing in a team where there are other captains that could take his place.
"I’m not saying he’s not a captain, but in my era, we had Patrice Evra, Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidić, Roy Keane and Edwin van der Sar. How many of those guys did we have in our dressing room?
“Now, you maybe feel that only Fernandes and maybe Harry Maguire express themselves as leaders. As a captain, focusing on what happens on the pitch is the most important thing, but it’s also about inspiring passion.
"Bruno hasn’t fulfilled his talent at times, but he’s shown that he cares. The standard at Manchester United is not right, and he has been criticised a lot – he said it himself in an interview that he blames himself and wasn’t happy with how he performed in some games. I think that’s brilliant, and good for the team’s confidence.
“Manchester United need to be consistent now – they have brought themselves up [a level] after the Liverpool result in the eyes of their fans, they need to do this week-in, week-out now."
United could see themselves even more short of leaders next term, with Maguire's contract set to expire. Amorim however, has revealed that United will trigger an option to extend his deal by a further 12 months.
Speaking ahead of Liverpool, Amorim said: “Amad is near, Harry Maguire we are going to trigger our option.
“I spoke with him [Harry] this morning and I told him he has to improve on the pitch, we need him a lot. Also, he has to improve as a leader. We all know the situation that he had here but we need him a lot in this moment, so we are going to trigger, happily, the option for him.”
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