Former Manchester United captain and Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville believes midfielder Bruno Fernandes has been a transformative figure since he joined the club last January.

After naming him in his Premier League Team of 2020, which was chosen jointly with Jamie Carragher, Neville says the Portuguese international is very much the team’s talisman, despite not being the club captain:

“He’s transformed the whole club and every time he doesn’t play, it’s a massive problem. That’s a big issue when you are almost reliant on him. And of all the midfield players they’ve got, Donny van de Beek, Pogba, Fred, Nemanja Matic and Scott McTominay, he is just absolutely out there.”

“Those three midfield players pick themselves and Fernandes has been an absolute sensation at Manchester United. He is the leader of that team and although he’s not wearing the captain’s armband, he could be.”

As well as Fernandes, Neville and Carragher named six Liverpool players in their Team of the Year, including Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson, Jordan Henderson and Mo Salah.

Tottenham forwards Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min also made the list, with Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne and Wolves captain Conor Coady making up the rest of the eleven.

It was a fantastic year for Fernandes, in particular, and he is fully deserving of his place. It will be hoped that there will be a few more names from United when it comes to drawing up the team for 2021.