Why Ten Hag shouldn’t have picked Fernandes as captain

Former Liverpool player Danny Murphy has queried Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag’s decision to name Bruno Fernandes as the club’s new captain.

According to Murphy, Ten Hag should have picked Lisandro Martinez over Fernandes to be the new Red Devils captain as he believes the former is ‘a real leader’ compared to the Portuguese midfielder.

Fernandes emerged as the Red Devils’ new captain after Harry Maguire was stripped of the club’s captaincy.

“I think he [Bruno Fernandes] ticks some boxes for captain material, but not enough for me,” Murphy told talkSPORT.

“I think he still can be a bad example when he is moaning at the world and throwing himself about everywhere. That is not leadership. I don’t think his defensive work is great; I think he is more reactive than proactive. But he is a wonderful player, with his energy and his durability.

“Who else at United are you going to give it to? The one obvious candidate is Martinez. [It] doesn’t matter [that he’s only been there a year]. He looks like a real leader. If I had the choice at the start of the season as Man United manager, I would have gone with Martinez.”