Last summer, Manchester United were close to losing their captain, Bruno Fernandes, after attracting a lot of interest from the Saudi Pro League, but ultimately opted to stay at Old Trafford.

Despite being offered a reported £700,000-a-week contract in Saudi Arabia, Fernandes chose to stay and try to help change the fortunes of the club around.

Under Ruben Amorim, the 31-year-old featured much deeper than his preferred attacking midfield role, often partnering Casemiro in the middle of the park.

However, since Michael Carrick took charge in January, the Portuguese maestro hasn't looked back, being pivotal in the side's dramatic upturn in form, and pushing the side to third in the Premier League, with a spot in the Champions League almost certain.

Fernandes has gone from strength to strength under Carrick, assisting 10 and scoring three to put him within touching distance of breaking the Premier League record for assists in a season.

The 31-year-old currently sits on 18 assists, needing three more from the club's remaining five games to break the record, jointly held by Premier League greats Thierry Henry and Kevin de Bruyne.

This season however, could have been very different if the Portuguese midfielder had decided to call an end to his United career last summer, with just an FA Cup and Carabao Cup medal to his name.

Speaking to Man Utd legend, Wayne Rooney, Fernandes revealed it was his wife Ana, who was the deciding factor in him ultimately staying at the club last year.

"I stayed because I thought I still had something that I could give back to the club.

"Obviously, the Saudi situation, with the money… there was a lot. The good thing I have in my family is that my wife is pretty down to earth like me.

‘We’re very aware that we don’t want to be the richest person in the world. We just want to be the ones that have achieved the dreams they had and live a good life with their kids and trying to be as successful as possible.

‘The words of my wife were like, “Have you achieved your dreams? Have you achieved everything you wanted?”

‘And that small thing she said made me understand that she’s on the same page as me. Let’s keep trying and see where this takes me.’

While Manchester United will end this season trophyless, there is still the real possibility that Fernandes could walk away with several personal accolades.

While only three assists away from breaking the Premier League record, he is also a serious contender for the Player of the Year award, as well as the Footballer of the Year, after yet another stellar season at United, at times single-handedly dragging United to key victories.

While the award usually goes to someone who has played a key part in a side's successful season, there is no standout player from the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City who are the standout choices.

Declan Rice has been the favourite to pick up the prestigious award for the majority of the season, but his performances have taken a slight downturn in the second half of the season, as Arsenal's title charge has faltered in April, meaning Fernandes is now the odds-on favourite.

When it comes to Manchester City, their squad as a whole have all played a significant role in their late title charge, meaning that if there was going to be a winner from outside the top two, Fernandes is definitely deserving of the award.