Bruno Fernandes was described as a mix between Paul Scholes and Juan Sebastian Veron by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after inspiring Manchester United’s 3-0 home win over Watford.
The Portuguese’s performance, pulling the strings in the centre of the park, led United manager Solskjaer to compare his new signing to two midfield greats.
Fernandes opened the scoring from the penalty spot for his first United goal and also added an assist for an excellent third goal scored by Mason Greenwood which put the result beyond doubt.
The 25-year-old has impressed since joining the club last month, and with his acquisition, it looks like United have made a shrewd move in the transfer market.
“He has come in and given everyone a big boost – not just the team, the supporters too,” Solskjaer told reporters post-match.
“He felt from the first minute like a big personality in our group. He was confident straight away and is like a mix between Scholes and Veron.”
Speaking to the BBC, the United boss had further praise for Fernandes and also applauded the goalscoring exploits of teenager Greenwood.
“Bruno Fernandes is quicker than he looks,” he said.
“I’m very excited to have him in. He has come in, given everyone a boost and wants to conduct a game. There are big games coming up now.
“The thing that matters in football is scoring goals and that is what Mason Greenwood does.”
As well as being a morale booster for a couple of the new faces in the team this season, the win also propels United up the league table, and into the European qualification spots.
They now occupy fifth place, which depending on the outcome of Manchester City’s appeal against their UEFA ban, could even be enough for a Champions League place.
Even without that bonus, United are now just three points behind fourth-place Chelsea and boast a better goal difference than the London club.
United are now unbeaten in three Premier League games, having claimed an important victory against Chelsea sandwiched between this latest victory and a draw with Wolves.
It is also their third league clean sheet in a row, giving them five in six games in all competitions, something which also pleased Solskjaer.
“It was a very good win, two good wins and two clean sheets, some goals to celebrate, now we want to kick on,” added Solskjaer.
“I thought in the first half we started by giving them some good opportunities and gradually we created more and more chances.”
