Bruno Fernandes compared to Man Utd legend as former boss explains Prem success
A former manager of Bruno Fernandes has compared the attacking midfielder to a Manchester United legend and attempted to explain his success in the Premier League.
Fernandes joined United from Sporting in a deal worth £67.7million back in January 2020. He has gone on to register 49 goals and 39 assists in 116 matches for the Red Devils so far.
That includes goals in consecutive Premier League wins over Brighton and Leeds during February.
Fernandes is pushing to start in United’s Champions League match against Atletico on Tuesday night. The last 16 tie is level at 1-1 after the first leg in Madrid.
Fernandes recently caught Covid and immediately became a doubt for the European clash. But Ralf Rangnick now says the Portugal international is available after returning a negative test result.
Ahead of the match, Spanish outlet Marca spoke with Fernandes’ former boss at Sporting, Silas. The interview is translated by Sport Witness, who also reveal Atletico were hoping to sign Fernandes before his transfer to United.
“He is a very Atletico player,” Silas said of Fernandes. “Brutal, very competitive. We agreed with him, he left in January.
Bruno Fernandes hard to replace at Sporting
“It was a hard blow. We lost [him] in the middle of the year. It was not easy to find a quick solution for that.”
Silas went on to reveal one of the main reasons why Fernandes has been so successful in England – his language skills.
“Bruno has some characteristics as a person that help him a lot. He is very outgoing. He loves football and talks about it continuously.
“He speaks Portuguese, Italian, English, Spanish – and everything very well. He has an ear for language. It allows him to reach the Premier League and adapt.”
Portugal ace compared to United legend
27-year-old Fernandes was then compared to former United midfielder Paul Scholes, who won 11 Premier League titles during an illustrious career at the Theatre of Dreams.
“Bruno is a footballer who is not easy to stop. He is not like [Lionel] Messi, who dribbles around you,” Silas added.
“Bruno’s danger is when you’re not seeing him. When the ball falls to him and there is no one in front of him, he hits it very well. With the right, with the left. Reminds me of [Paul] Scholes.
“If you give him two metres it is like a penalty. he’s incredible. Direct free kicks… the way he kicks is incredible. He is a team player. You will not see him dribble past three, but if he catches it on the edge, he is very dangerous. He also has a great last pass and works very well.”
READ MORE: Sir Alex Ferguson example cited as to why elite manager won’t join Man Utd
The post Bruno Fernandes compared to Man Utd legend as former boss explains Prem success appeared first on TEAMtalk.