BRUNO FERNANDES could be replaced as Manchester United captain.
Erik ten Hag is under pressure to strip the midfielder of the armband following his side’s 3-0 loss to rivals Manchester City on Sunday.
APBruno Fernandes could be stripped of the Manchester United captaincy[/caption]
ReutersRoy Keane has called for his old club to change their skipper[/caption]
Former United skipper Roy Keane fumed at the Portugal international after the match as he argued for a change of captain.
“The one thing I would do, after today having watched him again, I would definitely take the captaincy off him, 100 per cent,” raged Keane.
“I know it was a big decision to change the captaincy with (Harry) Maguire, but Fernandes is not captain material.”
Fernandes was only handed the armband in the summer after Ten Hag took the duty away from Harry Maguire.
Here, SunSport looks at five United stars who could replace Fernandes as captain.
Casemiro
Already captain of the Brazilian national team, Casemiro was understood to have been a candidate to take over from Maguire in the summer.
Following his stellar debut season at Old Trafford, Ten Hag had considered the 31-year-old before choosing Fernandes.
The United boss has previously spoken of Casemiro’s leadership ability, having overlooked him as skipper during a trip to Aston Villa last November.
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GettyCasemiro has been tipped for the armband in the past[/caption]
Ten Hag opted for Cristiano Ronaldo instead due to the midfielder’s lack of English, explaining: “Casemiro is the leader but he is not speaking perfect English so then Cristiano is the leader.”
However, the former Real Madrid man has struggled for form so far this season, with doubts over whether he should remain in the starting line-up, let alone be made captain.
Marcus Rashford
Academy graduate Marcus Rashford has already shown leadership both on and off the field in recent seasons.
The forward’s campaigning against child hunger earned him an MBE in the 2020 Birthday Honours.
Rashford has been on United’s books for 18 years and scored 30 goals for the club last season.
Like Casemiro, though, his performances have dipped this term, with the England star scoring just once in 13 appearances to date.
GettyMarcus Rashford has shown his leadership on and off the pitch[/caption]
Lisandro Martinez
One of Ten Hag’s first moves after taking over as United boss last summer was to bring Lisandro Martinez with him from Ajax.
The Argentine defender has since become a fan favourite, barely missing a game in his first 15 months in Manchester.
He was also tipped for the captaincy back in August, with ex-Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy telling talkSPORT: “Who else at United are you going to give it to?
“The one obvious candidate is Martinez… doesn’t matter (that he’s only been there a year). He looks like a real leader.”
GettyErik ten Hag is facing pressure to replace his captain[/caption]
Luke Shaw
Left-back Luke Shaw is currently United’s longest-serving first-team player, having signed from Southampton nine years ago.
He has since made 262 appearances for the club and played under five different managers.
Shaw has also evolved into a key man for the Red Devils since recovering from the serious leg injury he suffered in 2015.
The 28-year-old has not featured since August, though, with a muscle injury keeping him out of action for over two months.
Harry Maguire
Ten Hag could instead opt to reverse his captaincy decision completely following Maguire’s return to the fold.
Having been close to leaving Old Trafford in the summer amid interest from West Ham, the defender has shown resilience to make an impressive comeback.
Maguire has started each of United’s last four matches across all competitions.
He also scored the winning goal against Copenhagen in the Champions League last week to help his side claim a crucial three points.
APHarry Maguire was stripped of the captaincy during the summer[/caption]