When Bruno Fernandes lifted his finger to his lips to ‘shush’ Pep Guardiola at Old Trafford, he became an instant hero for Manchester United supporters.
The Portuguese midfielder has made an immediate impact both on and off the pitch for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side, who are unbeaten since his arrival from Sporting Lisbon for £47m in the January transfer window.
Despite playing just nine games and seeing big-name players such as Radamel Falcao, Angel di Maria and Alexis Sanchez fail to make an impression before him, Fernandes has already been touted as the club’s best signing since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013.
The unexpected break in the season due to the coronavirus crisis has halted what was impressive form for Fernandes, alongside an upturn in results for United heading into the business end of the campaign.
Indeed Fernandes has already endeared himself enough to the Old Trafford faithful that he already had a terraces song in his name.
“Bruno, Bruno, Bruno, he’s from Sporting like Cristiano. He goes left, he goes right, makes defences look rubbish, he’s our Portuguese magnifico.”
And while Fernandes has made an impact with supporters, it’s on the pitch where he’s making the biggest waves.
In January, United had suffered demoralising back-to-back defeats against Liverpool and Burnley to once again raise questions about Solskjaer’s suitability in one of the biggest jobs in world football.
But the Norwegian and his Red Devils were a team transformed since a deal for Fernandes was completed on 27 January to bring an end to a prolonged transfer saga that had started last summer.
In Portugal, Fernandes was the stand-out player for the last two seasons, winning the player of the year on each occasion, as well as the Portuguese Cup and the Portuguese League Cup twice with Sporting.
He scored 39 goals and provided 28 assists – no player had more goal involvements – and his 239 chances created was 25 clear of the next best, Alex Telles of Porto.
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