Fernandes’ self-confidence faces tough test
United’s new creative midfielder will have to hit the ground running, writes James Ducker
Speak to Michael Carrick about the demands of playing for Manchester United and he will tell you that nothing can really prepare you for the weight of expectation that comes with wearing that red shirt. Juan Sebastian Veron came with a lofty reputation in 2001 but failed to live up to the promise. More recently, Alexis Sanchez endured one misstep after another and the firm feeling within Old Trafford by the end was that the Chile striker, despite past association with Barcelona and Arsenal, was simply unable to cope with the pressure.
Bruno Fernandes does not arrive at United with a CV to rival Veron or Sanchez. But, at a time when a squad already short of quality have been decimated by injuries to key players and supporter unrest takes a more sinister turn, no one should underestimate the pressure now resting on the Portugal midfielder’s shoulders.
Even if Fernandes proves a success, and the importance of him hitting the ground running is likely to be amplified by the scrutiny that surrounds his impending
£46.6 million arrival from
Sporting
Lisbon, Ole
Gunnar Solskjaer will still need several high-calibre additions to transform this team. And that is assuming the United manager can make them all gel.
One thing Fernandes does not lack, though, is selfconfidence, and he will need every ounce of it if he is not to become the latest victim of the talent graveyard Mino Raiola, Paul Pogba’s agent, feels has taken hold at Old Trafford, one factor behind his client Erling Haaland snubbing United in favour of Borussia Dortmund this month.
Fernandes – who arrived in Manchester yesterday ahead of a medical – was still a fortnight shy of his 18th birthday when, in August 2012, he signed for Italian club Novara from Boavista for €40,000 (£34,000). The clear expectation was for him to spend that season in Novara’s Under-19 team. Yet during negotiations, Fernandes requested that Novara insert a €40,000 bonus in his contract in the event he played for the first team that year, such was his conviction he would be fast-tracked. By October, he was playing every week for the seniors. Fernandes was soon attracting wider attention and he moved to Udinese the following year. It was during his second season with Udinese, in 2015, that he first came on to United’s radar. Javier Ribalta, the man who had taken Fernandes to Novara, would end up at United as a chief scout in 2017 following five successful years helping to drive Juventus’s recruitment and he remained a champion of the Portuguese. Another example of Fernandes’ self-belief came when he joined Sampdoria from Udinese in 2016 and had the gumption to demand the No 10 shirt synonymous with the great Roberto Mancini. United gave consideration to a move for Fernandes last summer. Contact was made with Miguel Pinho, the player’s agent, in April. A meeting between Pinho and Matt Judge followed in June, at which United’s head of corporate finance told the agent Fernandes was one of Solskjaer’s leading midfield targets but that the club were pursuing other business first. Then the trail went cold, perhaps because any prospective transfer was indelibly linked to the future of the wantaway Pogba, or maybe because United had doubts. Tottenham Hotspur also looked at Fernandes but opted instead to sign Giovani Lo Celso on loan from Real Betis. By the end of the summer, United’s interest in Fernandes was being categorised alongside their phantom pursuit, years earlier, of Nicolas Gaitan, the former Benfica midfielder, persistent summer links with whom eventually forced David Gill, then the United chief executive, to telephone the Benfica president to tell him to stop planting nonsense in the Portuguese press.
Somewhere along the line, then, there has been a rethink at United. It probably did not help that other targets, such as James Maddison, of Leicester City, and Ajax’s Donny van de Beek, were considered unobtainable this month. Similarly, injuries to Pogba and Scott Mctominay have heightened the pressing need for reinforcements. Nonetheless, United feel strongly that Fernandes, a natural leader and only 25, has matured significantly in influence over the past six months. The move has also been unanimously backed by Solskjaer and the recruitment team
United feel that the 25-year-old has matured in influence over the past six months
– unlike in the case of Fred, United’s last midfield recruit.
The Brazilian had principally been a recommendation of Mick Court, United’s technical chief scout. Jose Mourinho was less convinced but, preferring a signing than no one at all, Solskjaer’s predecessor gave the £52 million transfer the green light.
Fernandes’s numbers are certainly impressive. Since the start of the 2017-18 campaign, no player in the Primeira Liga has had more goal involvements (67), scored more goals from outside the penalty area (nine), created more chances (239) or had more shots on target (114).
Physically, the adjustment to the Premier League may be a challenge. Even in Portugal, he has been known to get knocked off the ball too easily and, initially, he will be coming into a midfield without Mctominay and Pogba, in a team who are struggling. It promises to be a tough baptism.