Bruno Fernandes has been backed to end his career at Manchester United, after collecting this season’s Player of the Year award.Fernandes is enjoying another fine individual campaign, and has been the driving force behind the Red Devils’ revival under Michael Carrick.Bruno Fernandes has been Man United’s standout performer during some challenging spellsGettyThe Portuguese star brought up his historic 16th league assist of the season in a 3-1 win over Aston Villa at the weekend.By teeing up Casemiro and Matheus Cunha, Fernandes broke David Beckham‘s record for the most assists by a United player in a single Premier League season.And with United in the race for Champions League qualification, they are desperate to secure their talisman Fernandes’ long-term future.The 31-year-old has a year left on his current contract, but previously called his own future at the club into question when he revealed senior figures were prepared to sell him to Saudi Arabia last summer.Fernandes ultimately turned down a £700,000-a-week offer from Al Hilal to stay at Old Trafford, but he has not penned a new deal.The United captain has a release clause worth around £57million that can be activated by European clubs at the end of the season.‘I would stay, 100 per cent’With decision time for Fernandes fast approaching, recent reports claim Man United have told their skipper they will do everything in their power to keep him at the club.And one man who believes Fernandes should take his employers up on their offer is former Portugal teammate Jose Fonte, who joined Wednesday’s talkSPORT Breakfast to discuss his current situation.Asked what he would do in the United star’s position, Fonte replied: “Me, I would stay 100 per cent.“I think the club looks like it’s on a good trajectory now under Michael Carrick.”Fonte and Fernandes spent five years as teammates in the Portugal national set-upGettyBacking Fernandes to stay, Fonte insisted he should cement his legend status by seeing out his career at Old Trafford.Since his arrival in 2020, the playmaker has established himself as one of United’s most influential players in recent years, scoring 105 goals and providing 103 assists in a turbulent period that has seen seven permanent and interim managerial changes.Stating his case to stay, Fonte continued: “The club, as we all know, is a massive club. “Bruno is becoming, or if not already, he’s a legend at Man United. I think he loves the city, loves the club.“He’s thriving again. Why not stay until the rest of your career? Because it’s one of the best clubs in the world.”Player of the Year?While Fernandes’ long-term future remains up in the air, it certainly affected his performances for Man United this season.GettyFernandes has reached double figures in assists in all of his full seasons at Man United[/caption]He has continued to be a standout performer, racking up seven Premier League goals on top of his 16 assists, with the Red Devils now flying high under Carrick in third place in the league.And Fernandes’ record-breaking exploits against Aston Villa have led to calls for him to be crowned this season’s Premier League Player of the Year.Not only did he make United history at the weekend, but he is now just four assists shy of the Premier League season record of 20 shared by Kevin De Bruyne and Thierry Henry.And talkSPORT’s Angelina Kelly believes Fernandes’ consistent high-quality showings, even amid a changed role after Ruben Amorim’s sacking, make him a leading contender for the individual award.Speaking on the latest episode of Inside Devils, United superfan Kelly said: “Bruno Fernandes has stood out from the crowd. “He’s been forced to play in positions that don’t necessarily come naturally to him.Inside Devils on talkSPORTThere's nowhere else that does Manchester United like talkSPORT.Stay ahead of every tactical shift, manager sacking and transfer rumour by making talkSPORT’s Inside Devils show your weekly go to for all things Man United.Subscribe now to ensure you never miss a beat of the action one episode at a time, sponsored by BetMGM.Download the app or visit BetMGM.co.uk. 18+gambleaware.org“I think to play such a role, that has felt single-handed at times, and drag this team up. You look at last season and some of the work that he put in – we’d have finished even lower than 15th.“So all of that combined, I just think that he’s been absolutely amazing. In terms of attacking players that create and score goals in the final third, I just don’t think that there’s anybody better than him across this season.”Rounding off her case, Kelly claimed Fernandes has had a greater impact at Man United compared to other big-name players.She continued: “You’ve had a manager that hasn’t been good and you’ve had certain players that haven’t necessarily stepped up to the plate when needed. I just think that he’s dead on for it.“I know maybe some Arsenal fans might argue somebody like Declan Rice or whatever and there’ll be arguments for players in other teams.“When you look at big players in other teams, let’s take a Virgil van Dijk or maybe an Erling Haaland – do you think that you could stick any of those in a side like Manchester United that were 15th and would improve them the way that Bruno has? “I don’t know if I necessarily would say any of those players would.“