Ruben Amorim admits Bruno Fernandes 'problem' after Man Utd captain's West Ham brace

Ruben Amorim has expressed how important it was that Bruno Fernandes stayed at Manchester United beyond the summer after strong interest from Al-Hilal. However, despite the captain's match-winning contribution against West Ham United in New Jersey, Amorim characteristically kept his analysis honest.

Al-Hilal pushed to sign Fernandes ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup. The Saudi Pro League club were reportedly ready to triple the 30-year-old's salary and hand United an eye-watering transfer fee. However, following talks with the club and his family, Fernandes opted to stay put for another season.

He looks set to play a prominent role again this term and will be encouraged by the arrivals of attacking upgrades in Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo.

Fernandes scored from the penalty spot before adding a superb second as United beat West Ham 2-1 at MetLife Stadium this morning.

After the match, Amorim raved about the Portuguese playmaker while also handing him some constructive criticism.

He said: "It was so clear [that we had to keep him] last season, you can see it with the goals and assists. But it's not just that.

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"I think now he has more players, I feel, to help him to lead the group, and that is a good thing. He is our leader and really important, not just on the field, but off the field. He leads by example.

"He works really hard, is always available, and sometimes, he plays with pain. Sometimes, the problem is he gets frustrated and loses a little bit of focus of his job.

"Sometimes, he wants to help the team-mates so much, it is not the best thing to do. They have to do their job and Bruno has, for example, to wait for the ball."

Amorim expects Cunha and Mbeumo to support Fernandes this season, while has has also spoken highly of fellow midfielder Kobbie Mainoo.

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"He has a function or a position for every game. It's impossible to play all the positions," Amorim added.

"Last year, I felt sometimes I pushed him back to have more possession in the build-up, and we missed Bruno near the box.

"With different characteristics from Bryan [Mbeumo] and Matheus Cunha, and I really like Kobbie Mainoo's game, he will have more help this season.

"Bruno runs a lot, maybe in the sprints, he is a different player, but he runs a lot. He has a lot of endurance, and he is smart.

"It's not about that. Physicality with Bruno is not a concern, playing him deep or as an attacking midfielder."