Bruno Fernandes features in Sofascore's Premier League 'Team of the Year' for 2023

Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes has been named Player of the Year by Sofascore after they published their official Premier League Team of the Year.

It has been a somewhat turbulent 2023 for United but Fernandes, who replaced Harry Maguire as their permanent captain in July, has been one of their standout performers.

The Portuguese midfielder has been an ever-present figure for Erik ten Hag's side this year. In fact, nobody in Europe's top five leagues has played more than Fernandes.

He featured in more than 70 games, which means he was the only player to have recorded more than 6,000 minutes of action throughout the calendar year.

And on top of that, he created the most chances in England's top flight in 2023 [133], which is significantly more than Bukayo Saka [90] and Trent Alexander-Arnold [89].

It doesn't stop there, either. Fernandes is also the first ever Manchester United player to create 100 chances from open play in a league calendar year since statistics were recorded over two decades ago.

As a result of his fine form, Sofascore named the Portugal international in their Premier League Team of the Year for 2023.

Nine different sides, including Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, are also represented, but Fernandes managed to snatch the Player of the Year with an average rating of 7.66.

Mohamed Salah recorded the second-highest rating with a score of 7.48, while Virgil van Dijk [7.32], Ethan Pinnock [7.24], Kieran Trippier [7.46] and Pascal Grob [7.42] feature in a back four.

Here is the team in full:

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | Team of the Year

Our 2023 Premier League TOTY is here! 🤩

Impressively, nine different sides see their players represented in here, as everyone in this XI truly was the shining star of their team.

Bruno Fernandes is our Player of the Year. 🌟 pic.twitter.com/uWZE42hQbB

— Sofascore (@SofascoreINT) December 29, 2023

Ahead of Saturday's game between Manchester United and Nottingham Forest, Nuno Espirito Santo said Bruno Fernandes should be treated as "one of the best in the Premier League".

"I have a big admiration for him, as a player and as an individual," Espirito Santo said.

"He's so competitive. Maybe some criticise him, but being competitive within the game is something I think all professionals should have.

"To be able to have this desire of always wanting to win and always wanting to do it makes you grow and makes you better. He's a big player, a special player, one of the best in the Premier League definitely."