Bruno Fernandes is arguably the best player in the Premier League.
His form this season has been concerning, although some suggest he is playing through an injury, which could explain why he has not been as commanding as he was last term.
Even so, who would doubt him after he scooped the Premier League Playmaker of the Season, Premier League Player of the Season, FWA Footballer of the Year, and PFA Players’ Player of the Year awards?
Fernandes is in a class of his own, so it is no surprise that Tottenham Hotspur’s James Maddison does not hesitate when explaining why he rates the Portuguese as the league’s best.
Maddison gushes over Bruno Fernandes
The Spurs midfielder appeared on Sky Sports’ Saturday Social, where he was asked to name his best Premier League player. He replied: “I will base it on last season, Bruno Fernandes for me.
“He has so much quality. No fear — it does not matter how many times he gives the ball away; he still wants it and tries things. He always does the numbers, he is always available, he’s a brilliant player. I love watching him.
“One thing about Bruno Fernandes I love is the runs he makes in behind. He makes so many good runs. He’s not a fast player, but the timing of his deep runs past the striker is superb. He gets a lot of chances and creates a lot of opportunities for himself and others from those runs.”
Too early to call it a bad season for Fernandes
Form is temporary, class is permanent. Given what Fernandes showed last season, there should be no doubting what an outstanding player he is.
He may be going through a difficult patch, but the Portuguese can turn things around.
By matchday eight last season, he had yet to register an assist. Yet after finally setting one up against Liverpool, he went on an incredible run that saw him break the single-season Premier League record with 21 assists.
| Stat | Premier League | FA Cup | League Cup | All competitions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Competition | Premier League | FA Cup | League Cup | All competitions |
| Apps | 35 | 1 | 1 | 37 |
| Minutes | 3066 | 90 | 45 | 3201 |
| Starts | 35 | 1 | 0 | 36 |
| Sub appearances | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Goals | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Non-penalty goals | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Assists | 21 | 1 | 0 | 22 |
| Goals + assists | 30 | 1 | 0 | 31 |
| Minutes per goal | 341 | – | – | 356 |
| xG (PL) | 10.79 | – | – | 10.79 |
| xA (PL) | 12.28 | – | – | 12.28 |
| xG + xA (PL) | 23.07 | – | – | 23.07 |
| Avg rating | 7.63 | 7.30 | 8.20 | 7.64 |
| Shots | 55 | 2 | 1 | 58 |
| Shots on target | 24 | 1 | 1 | 26 |
| Shot accuracy % | 43.6% | 50.0% | 100.0% | 44.8% |
| Conversion % | 16.4% | – | – | 15.5% |
| Passes | 1995 | 78 | 57 | 2130 |
| Accurate passes | 1640 | 60 | 48 | 1748 |
| Pass accuracy % | 82.2% | 76.9% | 84.2% | 82.1% |
| Key passes | 137 | 5 | 1 | 143 |
| Dribbles attempted | 36 | 1 | 0 | 37 |
| Dribbles completed | 15 | 1 | 0 | 16 |
| Dribble success % | 41.7% | 100.0% | – | 43.2% |
| Tackles | 54 | 2 | 2 | 58 |
| Interceptions | 20 | 2 | 0 | 22 |
| Tackles + interceptions | 74 | 4 | 2 | 80 |
| Blocks | 5 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| Duels | 272 | 6 | 5 | 283 |
| Duels won | 124 | 4 | 2 | 130 |
| Duels won % | 45.6% | 66.7% | 40.0% | 45.9% |
| Dribbled past | 39 | 0 | 1 | 40 |
| Fouls won | 35 | 1 | 0 | 36 |
| Fouls committed | 25 | 0 | 0 | 25 |
| Offsides | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Yellow cards | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Red cards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Penalties won | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Penalties conceded | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Penalties scored | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Penalties missed | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Clean sheets | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
This season he already has three league goals and an assist. It may simply be a case of him finding his spark again and silencing the doubting Thomases.
Featured image by Julian Finney via Getty Images
