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Manchester United trio Bruno Fernandes, Luke Shaw and Victor Lindelof have been nominated for the club’s Player of the Month award for April 2023.
The three have been selected as United’s most outstanding performers for April.
United played nine fixtures across three competitions in April – six games in the Premier League, two in the Europa League and one in the FA Cup.
The Red Devils won four of their Premier League games, drew one and lost one.
Erik ten Hag’s men were eliminated from the Europa League after a heavy defeat in Spain at the hands of Sevilla but made amends soon after by booking their slot in the FA Cup final after beating Brighton on penalties.
An ever-present component in Ten Hag’s starting XI, Fernandes has been deployed in a number of positions. He recently played on the right wing from where he scored the only goal in a win against Aston Villa.
Fernandes picked up an injury at Wembley during the Brighton clash and looked set to be unavailable to travel to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Portuguese however recovered in time and played a crucial part in the disappointing 2-2 draw.
As a result of injuries to Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane, Lindelof was thrust into the team and since being introduced after primarily playing a bit-part role throughout the season, the Swede has risen to the challenge.
Lindelof has ensured that Martinez and Varane are not sorely missed.
The most striking thing about Lindelof’s showings is his cool and composed persona – the same cannot be said of his centre-back partner, Harry Maguire.
After the Aston Villa win, Ten Hag spoke to reporters and hailed Lindelof for his contributions to the team.
The United boss said.” Victor Lindelof played brilliantly. He was totally in control in the area around [Ollie] Watkins.”
Shaw rounds off the nominees. The Englishman has had to adapt to a largely unfamiliar position courtesy of the team’s injury crisis at the back.
Shaw has formed a formidable partnership with Lindelof and the two are yet to lose a game when they have started together. Shaw last won a Player of the Month Award in March 2021.
