New Delhi, May 23 (IANS) Bruno Fernandes has been named the Premier League Player of the Season after delivering a remarkable campaign that powered Manchester United back into the UEFA Champions League places.

The United captain enjoyed one of the finest individual seasons of his career, combining creativity, leadership, and consistency to emerge as the standout performer in England’s top flight. Fernandes becomes the first Manchester United player to win the award since Nemanja Vidic claimed the honour in 2011.

The Portugal international’s influence has been reflected most strongly in his extraordinary creative numbers. Fernandes registered his 20th assist of the league season against Nottingham Forest last weekend, matching the all-time Premier League record jointly held by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne.

With one game still remaining against Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday, Fernandes now has the opportunity to become the outright record-holder for most assists in a single Premier League season.

Alongside his playmaking brilliance, Fernandes has also contributed eight league goals, taking his overall tally to 28 goal involvements in 37 appearances this campaign.

No player has created more chances in the Premier League this season than Fernandes, whose 132 chances created place him comfortably ahead of the competition. The United skipper produced 43 more chances than the next-best player, Dominik Szoboszlai of Liverpool.

Fernandes’ award arrives just weeks after he was voted the Football Writers’ Association Men’s Footballer of the Year, underlining the widespread recognition for his performances during United’s resurgence.

United’s campaign had looked uncertain midway through the season following managerial upheaval and inconsistency, but Fernandes remained the side’s driving force throughout the turbulent period. His leadership and output proved central to the club’s eventual rise to third place under Michael Carrick, securing a return to Champions League football.

Fernandes topped a strong shortlist that included Declan Rice, David Raya, Gabriel Magalhães, Erling Haaland, Antoine Semenyo, Igor Thiago, and Morgan Gibbs-White.

–IANS

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