'Huge hole at Man Utd without Bruno'

Not everything is straightforward around Bruno Fernandes.

He has entered the final year of his contract – Manchester United have the option to extend by another year – and while it is clear that interest from elsewhere in Europe, including from Turkish club Galatasaray, will not result in him leaving in this transfer window, he could justifiably say he should be the highest earner - a status that now belongs to Marcus Rashford.

The idea of Fernandes leaving, even at the age of 31, is not something many United fans would be comfortable with.

"He is the one that gets Manchester United ticking," former United and England wide man Ashley Young told Sky Sports. "There is a reason why he was voted player of the year by his fellow professionals and it's performances like this.

"He wants to be the best and he wants to win. He is huge for his club. If they don't have him, there is going to be a huge hole in this team."

At the final whistle on Sunday, Fernandes' initial reaction was to talk to substitute Benjamin Sesko about a technical point around a pass he had been trying to find the striker with during injury time.

Fernandes then shook hands with opposing players and the officials and was heading off to find more opponents to greet when he realised he had forgotten to collect the match ball, his hat-trick reward.

He swiftly turned, asked, and referee Craig Pawson handed it over.

Without his contribution, Manchester United may well not have won this game - but then, you could have said that about a lot of games over the past couple of years.