Former Premier League striker, Peter Crouch has jokingly predicted that Manchester United playmaker, Bruno Fernandes will win the Golden Boot award.
This is because he is Manchester United’s penalty taker and his rate of conversation is fairly high.
Fernades, who joined the Red Devils last January has become a sensational player for the team over the last few months for seemingly taking, and duly scoring, a penalty in almost every other game he plays.
He helped United to break the Premier League record for the most penalties awarded in a single season as the club got about 14 spot-kicks.
The Portuguese midfielder has now taken over the role from the likes of Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford, who took some before his arrival and he is yet to miss a single one.
Fernandes has so far played 25 games for United and scored nine from the spot. The latest was the dramatic 3-2 win at Brighton, which was his first goal of the campaign. The referee awarded the spot-kick after a clear handball from Neal Maupay.
Why Peter Crouch is backing Fernandes to win Golden Boot
During the Daily Mail Q&A section this week, the former Stoke City striker hilariously claimed, albeit jokingly, he is backing Fernandes to win the Golden Boot.
Replying the question asked by Andrew Hidges on the number of penalties Manchester United will get this season, Crouch said: “Well, Andrew, I have backed Bruno Fernandes to win the Golden Boot and I have done so on the basis that I will hear ‘penalty to Manchester United’ once a week from now until May.
“There are 38 games, so I’m saying 38 penalties. Do you agree? I found the spot-kick they got at Brighton on Saturday absolutely remarkable.
“I’m not sure how I would have felt to be on a side who thought they had a point at the final whistle, but then saw VAR come into play when the post-match handshake was going on. How does that work?”
With the new hand ball rule, Man United may get penalties in many games and Fernandes could be crazily on course to have 36 penalties to his name by the time he reaches a century of United games.
Some Premier League managers have criticised the rule, adding that it will affect many games in the season.
Tottenham Hotspur is the latest culprit of the law, when Newcastle secured a point against them over the weekend. This made Jose Mourinho to storm into the dressing room after the spot kick was awarded.
