Bruno Fernandes has been hailed as “the player Manchester United has missed for ages” after the team’s superb form streak since arriving in the Manchester Derby last weekend.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side won a surprise 2-0 victory over Man City on Sunday to finish the league double against their blue rivals.
The victory boosted United’s bid to qualify for the Champions League as they took fifth place with 45 points, just three points behind fourth place from Chelsea.
And Fernandes was once again at the center of the Red Devils when he asked for another help.
The Portuguese international has now been directly involved in six goals (three goals, three assists) in eight games since joining Sporting CP in January.
His initial £ 47 million transfer fee now looks like a good deal because of the impact he had during his short time at Old Trafford.
Former United defender Danny Higginbotham and former coach René Meulensteen joined talkSPORT Monday morning to reflect on United’s huge victory over Pep Guardiola’s team.
And both praised Fernandes, who is already a hero with his supporters.
“He’s a player that United has missed for so long,” said Higginbotham at the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast. “The best players improve the other players around them.
“Under Solskjaer, Man United did well against the big clubs, but I’m looking at the 3-0 victory over Watford … a few months ago, they probably would have shot that.
“Now what they have now is a Fernandes player who is known to shoot from outside the area, so the defenders have to push on him, which leaves space behind, and all d ‘suddenly Martial and James get more time and space to get behind the opposition.
“He also trusts other players; as soon as he receives the ball, they run and they trust him to find the pass. “
Meulensteen, who helped United win three Premier League titles and a European Cup in five years as head coach of Sir Alex Ferguson’s first team, also praised the midfielder, who he said was alone helped raise standards in the United locker room.
“Fernandes has had a fantastic impact,” said the Dutchman.
“For the moment, what is happening on the ground is working and it has made the difference.
“There was always this vulnerability about the Man United team, but now there is a lot more bite and belief about it, and I think Bruno Fernandes played a key role in it.
“Do you know what I like about him?” It does not accept low standards.
“There was a time yesterday when Daniel James broke on the right and he should have played Fernandes, he should have pulled it out and he would have been 2-0 – end of the game.
“And his reaction to those moments when players play a ball and it doesn’t come off, he’s not happy with that. That’s exactly what should happen; you should always aim for the highest standards and don’t accept neglect, and that’s one of the things he has.
“On top of that, he’s always looking to play forward, and he’s got the little bit of unpredictability that you saw in the free kick Martial scored on.”
“This element of the game was missing from Man United and now that they have it back it makes all the difference.”
Listen to an excerpt from Danny Higginbotham and René Meulensteen on talkSPORT, above