The Portuguese midfielder has previously spoken of his pride in racking up goal contributions and helping United in that way, but his biggest impact so far this season has arguably come elsewhere, according to his manager.
Fernandes has one goal and two assists to his name so far in 2022/23, but the stats don’t tell the story of our no.8’s importance to Ten Hag’s side.
While telling contributions in the final third are obviously majorly important to produce, Erik highlighted that it isn't the be-all and end-all to a player's influence, during the second part of his pre-Tottenham press conference on Tuesday afternoon, when asked about the potential for United to score more goals from midfield.