Bruno Fernandes becomes Manchester United coach

Manchester United’s captain has rarely been out of the headlines for the right reasons over the past week.

Bruno Fernandes was crowned PFA Player of the Year on Thursday, recognised for a season that included breaking the Premier League’s all-time assists record.

Days later, he backed that award up in the most emphatic way possible, scoring a hat-trick as United fought back from behind to beat Ipswich 5-2 at Old Trafford, his first Premier League hat-trick since the opening weekend of the 2021/22 season.

That hat-trick lifted his overall United tally to 113 goals in 330 appearances, spanning a spell at the club that has now taken in five different permanent or interim managers since his January 2020 arrival from Sporting Lisbon.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer signed him initially, before Ralf Rangnick, Erik ten Hag, Ruben Amorim and now Michael Carrick have each in turn relied on him as the creative heartbeat of the side.

Amid all that on-pitch success, Bruno Fernandes has now revealed a rather different side to his United story, having briefly coached current squad member Shea Lacey years before the two became team-mates.

Bruno Fernandes coaches Manchester United

Fernandes completed his UEFA B coaching diploma through the club, alongside former team-mate Juan Mata, and explained that Lacey was among the youngsters he worked with during the process.

“His technical ability was never in doubt,” Fernandes told the Men in Blazers Media Network on YouTube.

“I often joke with him because I coached him when I was taking my coaching badges, and I remember he was in the U14 team then.”

“So, Juan Mata and I basically coached him for a day. I told him he’s much better now than he was at 14. He is much more mature, doing very well.”

Lacey, now 19, has continued to progress through United’s academy system in the years since that brief coaching session.

Fernandes’ own coaching journey reflects a trend among United’s senior players in recent seasons, with several established names using their spare time to begin building badges of their own.

Mata has since gone on to further coaching work, having first taken his UEFA B alongside Fernandes at United’s Carrington base.

Fernandes’ willingness to invest in coaching qualifications during his playing career has often been cited by teammates as evidence of his footballing intelligence, something that has translated directly into his influence as captain.

His hat-trick against Ipswich also proved timely, coming just a week after United’s shock 2-0 opening-day defeat to newly-promoted Hull City.

That result meant United avoided becoming only the fourth top-flight club in history to lose their opening two fixtures against newly-promoted opposition.

Six and a half years since his move from Sporting Lisbon, Fernandes remains as central to United’s fortunes now as at any point during his time at Old Trafford.