When Paul Pogba said that Bruno Fernandes would be a Ballon d'Or candidate if he wore the Manchester City shirt, that opinion partly reflected an obvious reality. Man City is a classy team, has won titles and is likely to have more glory before the season ends.
If Fernandes plays for Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich or Man City, he could be mentioned in the Ballon d'Or race. However, the Portuguese midfielder is playing for Manchester United - a team that has not shown signs of being strong enough to compete for major titles this season.
Man United were eliminated from the Carabao Cup by Grimsby Town and stopped before Brighton in the FA Cup. In that context, Fernandes became a particularly important factor at Old Trafford, although that influence could be different if he played in a stronger team.
A little assumption is needed to imagine how Fernandes will perform in Bayern, PSG or Man City colors. If he helps Portugal win the World Cup, Fernandes will definitely become a Ballon d'Or candidate, despite the fact that Man United has only played about 40 matches this season.
However, Portugal's chances of winning the World Cup are not considered too high. Therefore, Fernandes' chance of winning the Golden Ball is still quite slim. However, individual titles in England are a completely realistic goal.
Fernandes is definitely a strong candidate for the Football Journalists Association's Player of the Year title, as well as the Player of the Year award voted by the Professional Footballers Association.
Usually, many votes will prioritize players who have made a great contribution to a successful team. Man City can win the treble, while Arsenal still has a chance to win a prestigious double.
But if looking at The Citizens, the outstanding choice is not too clear. Rayan Cherki has only recently exploded, Erling Haaland's excellence is gradually seen as obvious, while Bernardo Silva is often overlooked.
At Arsenal, Declan Rice had a very good first half of the season but no longer maintained his prominence recently. David Raya also had a chance, but individual awards usually do not favor goalkeepers or defenders.
History shows that. Neville Southall is the last goalkeeper to be voted Player of the Year by journalists, from the 1984-1985 season. Meanwhile, Peter Shilton is the only goalkeeper to ever win the PFA award, and Virgil van Dijk is a rare defender to be honored in the last two decades.
Arsenal's strength lies heavily in defense, but this is a factor that is often not highly appreciated in personal polls.
Therefore, the title of Player of the Year can completely belong to a name outside the two leading teams. And if considering individual performance alone, it is difficult to find anyone more worthy than Fernandes.
He not only played outstandingly, but also showed good adaptation under Ruben Amorim in a new role. At the same time, Fernandes also played excellently when Michael Carrick took over. His statistics are the clearest proof.
Fernandes is currently only short of 2 assists to reach the milestone of 20 assists in a Premier League season. When the season ends, the percentage of goals he directly assists for Man United is likely to become a league record.
This is the most meaningful statistic. Fernandes has assisted more than 31% of Man United's goals in the Premier League this season. For comparison, Kevin De Bruyne had 20 assists in the 2019-2020 season, but that number only accounted for 19.6% of Man City's total goals in the league.
However, the numbers only tell part of the story. Fernandes is not only excellent on the field, but also a professional role model outside the pitch.
If Haaland explodes at the end of the season and Man City wins the championship, the Norwegian striker may win the award. But if that does not happen, Fernandes completely deserves to be honored as Player of the Year.
