Bruno Fernandes is the Premier League's player of the season. The Manchester United captain and Portugal midfielder was named winner of the award Saturday, becoming the first United player to claim the honor since defender Nemanja Vidic in 2011.
Fernandes equalled the all-time record for assists in a Premier League season when he set up his 20th goal against Nottingham Forest last weekend. He also scored eight goals in 37 appearances, helping United secure third place and a spot in next season's Champions League. He created 132 chances overall, 43 more than the second-highest total, recorded by Liverpool's Dominik Szoboszlai.
Earlier this month, Fernandes was also named Football Writers' Association men's Player of the Year. Saturday's Premier League award is decided by combining public votes with those from a panel of football experts. Other players on the shortlist included Arsenal's David Raya, Gabriel, and Declan Rice, Manchester City's Erling Haaland, Brentford's Antoine Semenyo and Igor Thiago, and Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White.
United play their final game of the season Sunday at Brighton.
Manchester City's Nico O'Reilly won the Young Player of the Season award. The 21-year-old scored five goals and registered three assists in 34 league appearances during what the BBC described as a breakthrough season. O'Reilly joined City's academy at age eight, earned his first senior England cap in November, and has been named in Thomas Tuchel's 26-man World Cup squad.
Meanwhile, Manchester United confirmed that five members of Michael Carrick's coaching staff, including Steve Holland, Jonny Evans, Jonathan Woodgate, Travis Binnion, and Craig Mawson, have all signed new two-year deals. Carrick himself signed a permanent two-year contract Friday after serving in interim charge following the sacking of Ruben Amorim in January.
