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‘He looks cheap now’ – What pundits are saying about Bruno Fernandes

Bruno Fernandes has made an incredible start to his Manchester United career, proving instrumental to the club’s recent good form. 

The midfielder has hit the ground running and won plaudits for his performances with three goals and three assists in his first eight United appearances.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has also been hugely impressed with his new signing, and here’s what others have been saying…

Gary Neville

“I was worried the club wasn’t going to support him (Solskjaer) in the transfer market but Bruno Fernandes has made an impact beyond what anyone could have expected,” Neville told Sky Sports.

“Not just in possession but out of possession – the way he sprints and gets at people. He’s hungry and it looks like it’s rubbing off on everybody.”

Jaap Stam 

“I think Fernandes is a bit similar to Scholesy,” Stam told 888sport. “He’s always looking to play forward. He’s got the ability to score.

“He’s got a great free-kick. He’s got a great pass. He is always looking to get into certain areas to get onto the ball and be influential in the game.

“He’s not exactly the same. Scholesy was a bit more aggressive without the ball. But in football intelligence he is similar to Paul Scholes.”

Roy Keane

“He’s lifted everybody at the club. It’s as if he’s been there 20 years,” Keane told Sky Sports. “He’s got pure quality. The big plus for Ole over the last year or so is that the recruitment seems to be getting better.

“He looks like he’s going to be a big player for United for the next few years.”

Rio Ferdinand

“He’s come in and he’s been a breath of fresh air,” Ferdinand told his YouTube channel. “There’s no airs and graces and he looks like he’s come in and is someone who wants to play football and enjoys his football.

“He’s somebody who is going to have an impact and have an influence on other people it seems. He’s come in and I’m seeing improvements in other people’s performances.

“Mata for one, him and Mata have linked up very well. He plays the ball in to people, his awareness of space and people around him is phenomenal.

“It’s still early days, we can’t say he’s the saviour, but where we are now he’s scored two back to back penalties, but more importantly it’s been his performances, how he’s carefree, his imagination.”

Ryan Giggs

“He’s a fantastic player,” Giggs told Sky Sports News. “He’s lifted the place, he has lifted everyone around him and it’s still early days. I still think he can get even better.

“He’s hit the ground running which is what you want – especially [after] signing in the January transfer window [because] it doesn’t always happen.

“But he’s fantastic and I’m pleased to see him doing so well.”

Paul Scholes 

“He’s brought a lifeless attacking team to life,” Scholes told BT Sport.

“You wonder where United would be if they’d signed him in the summer. He’s made a team that wasn’t all that watchable at times very watchable.

“His creativity, his awareness on the pitch… before the ball comes he knows what’s happening. More often than not he makes the right pass. He’s sensational.

“He’s got goals in him, too, and you just wonder why nobody else came in for him or why we didn’t get him in the summer.”

Jamie Redknapp

“The Bruno Fernandes signing has been huge for the club, sometimes it can just take one player to change the feeling, the way they train,” Redknapp told Sky Sports.

“I love his attitude. He dictates the pace of the game. And when you see him live you see a player who can pull the strings. He’s not gone in there and taken it easy, straight away he’s gone in and he’s organising.

“To a certain extent he’s like the manager on the pitch. And that’s what you want – somebody who can run a game for you.

“Ole must be so happy with that signing, considering they nearly didn’t sign him. They were umming and ahhing over the fee but he looks quite cheap now.”

Dimitar Berbatov

“United look like a different team with Fernandes always looking to get on the ball, drive them forward and play the strikers in,” Berbatov told Betfair.

“I would have enjoyed playing in front of Fernandes because, for a striker, you are always willing to make runs when you know you have somebody in midfield who can find you with a pass.”

Owen Hargreaves

“He is just so smart,” Hargreaves told BT Sport. “He is like Scholes when I played with him, he was always one or two steps ahead of everyone else.

“Bruno just seems like he has the picture before the ball comes to him. He knows exactly what he wants to do with the ball.”

Ian Wright 

“He’s put up massive numbers in Portugal and everyone thought, ‘Well, it’s just the Portuguese league,'” Wright told Match of the Day 2.

“What will happen as time goes by is his team-mates will get used to him and what he can do. I can’t wait to see what happens when they do get used to him.

“Look at how sharp he is, this is what Man United weren’t doing before. Everything was so slow and methodic [before he signed].”

Tony Cascarino

“He’s not the quickest but he’s got unbelievably quick feet – terrific right foot,” Cascarino told talkSPORT.

“Great on set pieces. They’ve missed that guy at Man United – a guy that can deliver set pieces regularly and put it on a sixpence.

“They’ve needed that type of player that can change a game with a pass. Man City have had that guy with David Silva…he speeds the team up.

“It’s early days but he [Fernandes] has been terrific for United.”


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