Looking back at the video clip of Carrick presenting Bruno Fernandes with the Football Writers' Association Men's Player of the Year award five months ago, what stands out most is how relaxed both men were.
At the event in London, Carrick, usually reserved, looked exceptionally cheerful on stage. In his speech, he joked that although he was part of then-manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær's coaching staff when Fernandes joined Manchester United in 2020, signing the midfielder was not his decision. He then gently patted Fernandes on the shoulder.
Fernandes laughed warmly at his manager's joke. When Carrick turned serious and praised Fernandes' consistency, his leadership, and his importance to the team on and off the pitch at Old Trafford over the years, Fernandes smiled quietly beside him.
The scene captured a key reason for Manchester United's excellent performance last season.
After Ruben Amorim's departure, Carrick returned to the club as interim manager in January. He gave the players a platform to perform at their best, and the biggest beneficiary was the Portuguese captain. The two developed together, each lifting the other: three days after the awards ceremony in late May, Carrick was officially confirmed as the club's permanent head coach.
That is the level Manchester United need Carrick and Fernandes to return to together. Last Sunday, Carrick left Fernandes out of the starting lineup, and the team went on to lose 3-0 at home to AFC Bournemouth. Carrick told Sky Sports the decision was made for "purely footballing" reasons. However, five days earlier, Fernandes had publicly criticized Carrick's tactics after Manchester United lost 4-1 away to Italian side Como in the Champions League.
This week, the two met face to face to clear the air. At Thursday's pre-match press conference, Carrick announced that Fernandes would return to the starting lineup and captain the team at Stamford Bridge.
It is a chance for both men to turn things around, and their fortunes are clearly tied together.
Fernandes' outstanding 2025-26 season, which even earned him the Premier League Player of the Year vote from his fellow players, epitomized the success of Carrick's five-month interim spell. Carrick moved him back into the attacking midfield role and gave him freedom to roam, which greatly improved Manchester United's attack, and Fernandes himself broke the Premier League assist record.
In the second half of last season, he embodied Manchester United's style: a pragmatic, back-to-basics approach that still allowed moments of individual brilliance. But during the slump at the start of the 2026-27 season (the team is now eight games without a win), he has become one of the symbols of the team's decline in creativity, attacking threat, and overall cohesion.
He is by no means the only player underperforming, but his drop from last season's level is particularly noticeable.
Under Carrick last season, he never went two consecutive games without a goal or an assist. Now he has gone seven matches without either, including a 20-minute substitute appearance in the League Cup against Brighton & Hove Albion. His last contribution came on September 10, when he scored the second goal in a 4-0 Champions League win over Azerbaijani side Sabah.
Team-wide trends partly explain the drop in output. Last season under Carrick, Manchester United's most common chance-creation combinations (who passed to whom for a shot) included Fernandes setting up Casemiro, who left this summer, and Benjamin Šeško, who is injured until 2027.
Like his teammates, Fernandes has also been hampered by opposing tactics. Opponents have neutralized Manchester United's counter-attacking threat by sitting deep. Some of his assists in 2025-26 came from long passes or incisive through balls into open space, and that space is now much scarcer.
But that does not explain everything.
Last season, Fernandes' creativity also showed in his accurate set-piece deliveries and dangerous crosses under pressure. Over the past three months, by contrast, his decision-making and execution in possession have not been at their best.
Take last month's away match at Fulham.
When Josh King quickly pressed Fernandes as he received the ball, Fernandes' first touch left him with his back to the opponent's goal rather than turning to face it. He was forced into a challenge with King, which he eventually won, but his pass fell behind the rapidly advancing Luke Shaw and slowed Manchester United's attack. It was a minor incident, but it reflected a lack of sharpness compared with his standout form last season.
Another example came two weeks ago in the Champions League against Atlético Madrid. Fernandes briefly showed a flash of his old impact, deftly getting past Grimaldo. However, once he carried the ball into the box, he delayed his cross, dribbled repeatedly inside the penalty area, and eventually had to pass the ball backward.
For Manchester United, Fernandes regaining his form matters more than any other player's revival in the squad.
Carrick has no other attacking midfielder with comparable creativity and goal threat. Youri Tielemans, who joined this summer, played as the "number 10" against AFC Bournemouth, but he lacks Fernandes' versatility. Mason Mount, now in his fourth season at Manchester United, has not shown enough consistency or availability to earn a starting place.
Furthermore, as captain, Fernandes has a unique role in uniting the squad behind Carrick and leading it to greater commitment and intensity. If Carrick is to keep his job through the current slump, the whole squad must show strong support for him, and Fernandes, as captain, is central to that.
Carrick is not the only one whose future is under scrutiny at Manchester United. Fernandes' contract expires next summer, when he will be 32, and the club has the option to extend it by a year. In August, The Athletic reported that the club and the player's representatives were in negotiations. It is understood that Fernandes received a lucrative offer of around 20 million euros per year from Turkish club Galatasaray, but he prefers to stay at Old Trafford. No agreement on a new contract has been reached.
This is not the first time his future has drawn outside attention.
In 2024, when INEOS arrived as the new minority shareholder, Manchester United's future direction and ambitions came into focus. At that time, communication between the club and the player's camp indicated that both sides wanted Fernandes to stay. In the summer of 2025, he rejected an offer from Saudi club Al Hilal, but he later admitted that he felt "hurt" when he sensed that Manchester United seemed indifferent to his departure.
Deciding on Fernandes' future is not easy. Many regard him as the club's most successful signing since Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down as manager in the summer of 2013, and through years of turmoil he has been a constant, indispensable presence. However, he is now 32. If his form continues to decline, the case for offering him a new, and likely lucrative, contract will be much weaker.
Last season, Fernandes and Carrick complemented each other, and each improved the other's performances.
Saturday's match at Stamford Bridge is a critical chance for them to reverse their fortunes and rekindle that success.