Bruno Fernandes Backs Carrick as Manchester United Eyes Premier League Return

Bruno Fernandes has nailed his colours to the Manchester United mast and, just as firmly, to Michael Carrick’s. The captain insists he is “here to serve” the club and wants the man currently in the dugout to be the one who leads them back to the top of the Premier League.

Carrick, 44, is edging towards a long‑term stay in charge. A broad agreement for him to remain as United manager is understood to be in place, with club sources framing the finalisation of the deal as a question of “when rather than if”. The paperwork lags behind the mood music.

On Tuesday, Carrick was in London, not on the training ground but on the stage, handing the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year award to Fernandes. It was a neat snapshot of the power dynamic at Old Trafford: the former midfielder trusted with the rebuild, the current one driving it on the pitch.

Fernandes, 31, has just written his own line into Premier League history. His assist in Sunday’s breathless 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford took him to 20 for the season, equalling the league record for a single campaign. The numbers are eye-catching; the noise around the manager was just as telling. The home crowd roared their support for Carrick throughout, a fanbase making its preference clear.

Asked again about the man in the technical area, Fernandes did not bother to rework his message.

“I spoke a lot of times about him,” he said. “I already said many things about how good he could be as a manager in the past, so I think those words are still there.”

The stance has not softened with his growing influence in the dressing room. If anything, it has hardened.

“Obviously, it’s not in my hands deciding who’s going to be the next manager. I’m here to serve the club, whether that is a manager that comes in, or if he stays, I will serve them in the same way.”

The loyalty is to the badge first, but the hope is clear. When pressed on whether Carrick can take United back to the summit, Fernandes did not hesitate.

“I hope so, if he stays. I hope he’s one that can take us back to the top of the Premier League because this is what all the players want.”

That ambition sits against the backdrop of a strange, staccato campaign. United will close out their season on Sunday with a trip to Brighton, their 40th and final fixture in what is their shortest season for 111 years. Fewer games, same unforgiving scrutiny.

Carrick heads to the south coast with numbers that strengthen his case. Since stepping in after Ruben Amorim’s departure in January, he has delivered 11 wins from 16 matches. Not perfection, but a clear uptick, and enough to convince many inside Old Trafford that the trajectory is finally pointing upwards.

The contract announcement will come. The real judgment will follow next season, when promises, records and warm words give way to the only metric that truly matters at Manchester United: the league table.