Ruben Amorim shares true feelings on Bruno Fernandes ahead of Man Utd milestone

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Ruben Amorim has called Bruno Fernandes a 'great leader' ahead of the Manchester United captain's 300th appearance for the club. The Portuguese talisman will hit the mark if he takes to the field at Old Trafford against Brighton .

Fernandes signed for United in January 2020 in a deal worth £46.6million with Sporting standing the chance of earning up to £68m with add-ons. The midfielder quickly cemented himself as the club's most important player and has bagged 100 goals and made 87 assists.

The 31-year-old has been linked with an exit from Old Trafford in the last two summers but decided to remain at the club. In the transfer window, Fernandes knocked back a move to Saudi Pro-League club Al-Hilal as United attempt to get back to challenging at the top of the Premier League .

Amorim has been in charge of Fernandes for almost a year following his arrival from Sporting. And although the 40-year-old coach admires Fernandes' leadership qualities, he admits the Portugal international is not what he expected prior to joining the club.

"I think it's a little bit different from what I was expecting," Amorim said in his press conference. "Everything you read about the players sometimes is not that. You can understand sometimes they already spoken about.

"The frustration that he feels is because he wants to help his team-mates a lot. Sometimes it's not the best way but he comes from a good place and you don't know that when you are not here. He wants the responsibility all the time.

"He suffers a lot with the losses. Every time we don't win a game, you can feel it. He takes it personally, as he should as a captain. He is a great leader, a great footballer, so let's see if he's going to reach that mark tomorrow."

That assessment contrasts with how some perceive Fernandes despite his importance. Plenty of people have questioned the decision to hand him the captaincy including an iconic former Manchester United captain in Roy Keane , who does not see the star as a true captain.

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"You have to have a starting point. I go back to it all - talent is not enough," he said earlier this year. "Bruno's a talented player, but talent's not enough."

"You've got young players. You have to look at somebody and go 'I like what he does'," Keane added, when United were languishing in 15th place in the Premier League.

"They all can't put the ball in the top of the net from 25 yards, I get that. But you want someone who is going 'lads, are you with me?"'

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