The midfielder’s tactical and positional flexibility has drawn favourable comparisons with the Belgium international
Bruno Fernandes can be Manchester United’s answer to Kevin De Bruyne after an impressive debut against Wolves, according to Danny Higginbotham.
The Portugal midfielder was pitched straight into the starting line-up for Saturday’s clash at Old Trafford, just over 48 hours after his €55 million (£46m/$61m) switch from Sporting.
Fernandes played the full 90 minutes but was unable to create many clear-cut opportunities as the Red Devils were held to a goalless draw.
The 25-year-old spent the first half playing as a No.10, before dropping back in the second half to try and dictate the play from a deeper role.
And Higginbotham says that ability to play in both key positions draws comparisons with how De Bruyne is deployed at Manchester City, though he is keen to stress they are players with different attributes.
“I’m not saying him and De Bruyne are the same players. But at times last season and earlier this season, City played more of a 4-2-3-1 with De Bruyne as a No 10 and we have also seen De Bruyne in a more retracted position in a 4-3-3. Fernandes also has the ability to play in both positions,” Higginbotham told The Sun.
“The one thing United struggle with is creativity and that is probably why they are better on the counter-attack.
“In Fernandes they now have a player who can dictate either from deep or from higher up the pitch, depending on what the game demands.
“On Saturday he started in the No .10 position, but as the game went on he realised he could have more of an influence from deep positions because of how compact Wolves were.”
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was pleased with what he saw from Fernandes and blamed a lack of movement from his forward players on his failure to create many chances.
Higginbotham agrees with that assessment, but believes that once he has settled in and built up a relationship with his team-mates, Fernandes will be a key creative force in the side.
“What really impressed me about Fernandes was as soon as he passed the ball, he was immediately looking to pick it up again,” added the former Manchester United and Stoke defender.
“He doesn’t admire his pass, whether it is a ten-yard one or a 30-yarder. It was all about how he could get back on the ball. He looks like a man who, if he has players making the right movement off him, he will find them.
“Every time Fernandes picked the ball up there were players making runs because they trusted him.
“Against Wolves he had the most shots, the most shots on target, the most passes and the most passes in the opposition half.
“Boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is looking for leaders and one of the things that stood out was that he wanted the ball all the time, he wanted to take responsibility, no matter where he was on the pitch. As debuts go, it was impressive.”
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