The stakes could not be higher for Michael Carrick’s future at Old Trafford going into the Premier League match against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon.

Michael Carrick is hanging on by the skin of his teeth after narrowly avoiding a potential sacking from his role as Manchester United manager earlier this week.

Saturday’s visit to Stamford Bridge will now be a huge test for the Carrick and Fernandes dynamic. However, the writing could not be more on the wall that Fernandes’ captaincy needs to come to an end at Old Trafford.

Fernandes undermined Carrick’s position as Red Devils boss with his comments after Man Utd’s 4-1 away defeat to Como in the Champions League. While Carrick is currently fighting for his life at the Premier League club, Fernandes has shown his true colours this season.

If Carrick is unable to continue as Red Devils manager after the Chelsea match, then the 45-year-old United legend’s successor will have to pull the trigger in a way that he couldn’t. Maguire was stripped of the captaincy for far less of a situation compared to Fernandes and came out looking better after how he handled himself post-captaincy.

The writing is on the wall for Fernandes as Man Utd captain. While he has been criticised for his petulant behaviour on the pitch at times — both rightly and wrongly — undermining a manager’s authority is a can of worms that no player should open.  Fernandes has opened that can of worms and a future United manager would be wise to replace him as captain at Old Trafford.