‘He’s mentally strong and a workaholic’ – Agyemang Badu reflects on playing with Bruno

Nii Ayitey Brown 16:23 - 14 September 2026

Agyemang Badu and Bruno Fernandes

Former Ghana midfielder Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu has revealed how Bruno Fernandes’ talent, work ethic and set-piece ability were already clear during their time together at Udinese.

Agyemang-Badu says Bruno Fernandes’ quality and mentality were obvious during their time at Udinese.
He revealed that Fernandes was a hard worker who regularly arrived early for extra midfield and set-piece training.
The former Ghana international also praised Fernandes for maintaining their friendship and supporting him during a difficult health episode.

Former Ghana international Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu has reflected on his time playing alongside Bruno Fernandes at Udinese, highlighting the Manchester United captain’s strong mentality, hard work, technical quality and set-piece ability as key qualities that made him stand out from a young age.

Bruno Fernandes at Udinese

Agyemang-Badu, who played alongside Fernandes in Italy and served as his captain, told Pulse Ghana that the Portuguese midfielder was a highly talented player even at a young age.

Agyemang Badu at Udinese

“I was his captain at Udinese! Bruno, solid guy. Too much qualities. There's too much qualities and mentally he's very strong guy,” he said.

Fernandes joined Udinese in 2013 as a teenager and spent three seasons at the Italian club before moving to Sampdoria in 2016. He made 86 Serie A appearances and scored 10 league goals during his time there. He then joined Sampdoria on loan in August 2016 with an obligation to make the transfer permanent.

Agyemang-Badu said Fernandes' commitment to improving his game was obvious from the beginning, particularly in training.

“And you could see the kind of qualities you have at that time. He's very workaholic as well, he works very hard. And at that time, tactically, his techniques is too much.”

The former Ghana midfielder also pointed to Fernandes' ability from set pieces, saying his precision was already evident during his early years at Udinese.

“When we have the set pieces, wherever the boy is, he will put it there. Oh, so it's not new for him. He has been like this since when he was a kid.”

According to Agyemang-Badu, Fernandes was willing to spend extra time working on different aspects of his game with the club's midfield coaches.

He will wake up 7 o'clock, be at the training grounds, and be waiting for the midfielders coaches to come and work with us.

That dedication, Agyemang-Badu believes, explains why Fernandes went on to establish himself among the Premier League's leading midfielders.

So when I saw his progress, I'm not surprised. And I'm very proud of him.

Fernandes left Udinese for Sampdoria in 2016, later moved to Sporting CP and eventually joined Manchester United in January 2020.