Manchester United great Rio Ferdinand says Erik ten Hag moves Bruno Fernandes around in his line-up as he has the ability to perform in several positions while masking over concerns from elsewhere.
Perhaps most at home in the number 10 role, Fernandes has regularly played on both flanks this term before also being deployed as a deep-lying playmaker against Southampton on Sunday afternoon. It was a bold and attack-minded decision from Ten Hag which was applauded by supporters pre-match.
However, with Brazilian powerhouse Casemiro seeing red in the first half, United were not able to gain a true understanding of how that experiment went. According to Ferdinand, the Portuguese could cause opponents "problems" in that position should Ten Hag opt to go down that route once again with his tactical setup.
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Ferdinand also suggested that Fernandes taking up different positions shows that Ten Hag is perhaps not fully convinced about what other players bring to the table in crucial matches. On his FIVE podcast, Ferdinand said: "That's what I love about Bruno [taking risks] for everything people say about him. He could make four bad passes that go nowhere near the target, but the fifth is on the money and you get a goal or at least a chance from it. He needs those weapons in front of him.
"If he's got others running off the ball and he's in that deeper-lying position than he was before, he's a problem for anyone because he can put the ball on a sixpence. I think other moving parts in the team aren't as stable so he's having to move him around. Ten Hag knows he's got the ability to perform in different areas."
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