Bruno Fernandes has played under seven different managers at Manchester United in six years but his current lack of form is piling pressure on Michael Carrick

Much has changed at Manchester United since Bruno Fernandes joined them in 2020. Seven managers, either permanent or caretakers, have come and gone and countless team-mates have done the same, while the ownership of the club has also altered.

We've also had a pandemic and five different prime ministers. But in all this time one thing has remained the same - if Fernandes isn't performing to his maximum and pulling all the strings, United are one heck of a mediocre football team. And Fernandes has been bang average so far this season.

Some argue he hasn't returned from the World Cup yet and the end result is a string of results not even Michael Carrick can - or should be - taking positives from.

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Seven points from seven league games, and just two wins from 10 matches in all competitions, is a crisis by United's standards - the kind of results which get managers sacked.

It might seem churlish to blame Fernandes, considering what he has contributed to the team in recent times but there is no escaping the fact that when he isn't at his best, neither are United.

Further evidence of this could be found at Elland Road. Few places can expose a footballer's fragilities like this one can. And on a frenzied afternoon in Yorkshire, all we saw was someone acting like a petulant child. Someone who sulks when he doesn't get what he wants.

At times his behaviour made him a liability. He fed the venom pouring down from the stands with his pathetic histrionics. How he remained on the field until the final whistle is anyone's guess.

But this is damning of Carrick's indulgence of a player who is in clear need of a break. His form is alarming and he is contributing little or nothing. But Carrick can't see it.

"He's all right, it's not a big deal," said Carrick, "he played a slightly different role in midweek, but apart from that, it's pretty much as usual. He's an important part of our team. He has been for some time - and that's not changing."

Blind spots have been known to lead managers down dead ends, and where Fernandes is concerned, Carrick has one. United's season is unravelling and Carrick is under pressure.

He needs to start making some difficult decisions, because he also needs to start getting some wins. Otherwise he will be spending Christmas at home with his wife and kids, instead of on the training pitch.

He needs to realise that persisting with Fernandes in a wide forward position is counter productive. Not least when that position should belong to either Matheus Cunha or Marcus Rashford.

Fernandes played 53 games for club and country last season, which included a summer World Cup.

But he remains Carrick's most reliable workhorse, despite him having midfield options which now include Carlos Baleba, Kobbie Mainoo, Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans.

There is no shame in needing a breather. But unless Carrick realises this and acts fast, he might be getting a break himself. A permanent one.