Bruno Fernandes has had some good seasons since joining Manchester United back in January 2020, but this one feels different. The Portuguese midfielder has racked up 18 assists in the Premier League alone this term, putting him just two shy of the record for a single season in the top flight since 1992. There are still games to go, and he knows it.
RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko — who joined United in the summer — has been among those publicly backing Fernandes to win the Premier League Player of the Season award. "Bruno is the best player in the league this season," Sesko told reporters this week. "What he does for the team, week in, week out — the creativity, the leadership — it deserves recognition." Coming from his own striker, that kind of endorsement carries weight.
The numbers behind the chase
Fernandes set a new Manchester United record in March when he delivered his 16th league assist of the campaign in a 3-1 win over Aston Villa, breaking the mark David Beckham set in 1999-2000. He then kept going. At 31, he is playing some of the most consistent football of his career, and EA Sports FC 26 named him the highest-rated player in the entire Premier League Team of the Season — a virtual honour that tends to track the general consensus among football watchers.
He also won Premier League Player of the Month for March, making him one of the clear frontrunners for the end-of-season prize. No official announcement has been made yet, but the voting window is open and Fernandes' case is hard to argue against on pure stats alone.
What's driven this form?
Under Michael Carrick, United have set up in a way that funnels the ball through Fernandes in central areas, letting him pick passes into the channels for Sesko and Rasmus Hojlund. The combination has clicked in a way that United fans haven't seen for a while. Fernandes himself admitted in February that he felt liberated this season — less pressure to drag the team through games alone, more license to be the creative fulcrum rather than the one-man rescue act.
It doesn't hurt that United are in genuinely good shape this season, pushing at the top end of the table after years of dysfunction. When the team functions, Fernandes functions. That's always been true of him.
Can he break the record?
The assist record for a single Premier League campaign since 1992 stands at 20 — held jointly by a few players over the years. Fernandes is on 18 with several matches remaining. It's achievable. Whether he gets there or not, his season is already the best campaign United have seen from a midfield player in a long time — and the Player of the Season award would be a fitting stamp on it.
Player context: Bruno Fernandes, 31, Manchester United (captain). Current PL season: 18 assists, among the leaders for goals in midfield. Contract runs through 2026. Player of the Month: March 2026.
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