If we would play like recently and with ETH in his current state of mind things would most likely be worse without Bruno, I agree. But many people, when they criticize Bruno, ask for a different approach on top of a different player. And every manager has/had a tough choice because the idea of "Bruno hitting it long to Rashford" isn't a bad plan in itself. It becomes a problem when that is all you can do. In every match. I think, under ETH this tendency is going into the right direction but certainly not as fast or direct as many on here wish. Part of me is happy that more people see the downsides of him as of late but on the same hand, I think, he gets a little too much flack. I mean, it isn't his fault, that some of the attempts of club and manager to move away from him being the sole creator have failed as badly as they did. Martials downward spiral, Greenwood situation, Sancho flop, Antony not hitting the ground running, Mount injury ridden. There were a few attempts to broaden our arsenal but they have all failed. Therefor, Bruno is a bit unlucky in this regard because he is now the epicenter of attention.
I think the problem more than anything (from a Bruno point of view) is that he hasn't really enjoyed the luxury of being a part of a fully functioning team. Last season he only had Rashford and Casemiro (when he wasn't suspended) performing well around him. This season he's literally had no one bar Garnacho very occasionally. Mainoo and Højlund have stepped up recently and allowed Bruno to take more of a backseat role, but it's too little too late. Rashford is still a big problem and Casemiro has aged 10 years during his injury spell.
There are arguably 3 versions of "Good Bruno":
1. Portugal Bruno
An actual star. He does everything. He even occasionally dribbles and scores from a distance, which blows my mind.
2. The first 1.5 seasons under Ole
Chaotic, but deadly. Perfect for that style of football.
3. Ten Hag's first season
Drops deeper, defends fairly well and is more involved in the build up.
I think number 3 is a little under-appreciated in here and I think he would work really well in a functioning attacking setup. But the question is if we will get to see it. I got my fingers crossed for next season.
But no matter of all that - as somebody posted above, the guy is approaching 30, his contract is coming to an end. If we want to be a big club, we have to make hard decisions. And that means, at least for me, we definitely have to try to cash in when possible. Because the money we bring in will be of more use for the future than Bruno.
If we were a top team playing top football then I would maybe agree, but as things stand now we don't have that luxury. If I were to make a list ranging from "keep" to "sell" then it would look something like this:
1. Mainoo
2. Højlund
3. Garnacho
4. Martinez
5. Bruno
6. Shaw
7. Dalot
8. Mount *
9. Onana *
* not happy at all, but I need to see more.
The first 3 aren't better than Martinez and Bruno, but they all have great potential so I've put them at the top. Shaw is good but his injuries annoy me to no end. Dalot is a bit of a steady eddy, but he still has time to improve.
Everyone else could honestly be sold as far as I'm concerned. But we need an actual squad (not to mention a starting eleven), so that's obviously not gonna happen.