DBasia.news – Former Manchester United defender Patrice Evra claims he and Cristiano Ronaldo recommended Bruno Fernandes to manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer ahead of the midfielder’s move in January.
Fernandes ultimately secured a transfer to Old Trafford in the winter, with him departing from Sporting CP after being bailed out for a whopping 55 million euros.
The midfielder then impressed with his new club and quickly became a key player under Ole’s direction.
Fernandes has scored 12 goals in 22 appearances for the club, helping the Red Devils to finish third in the Premier League final table while also reaching the semi-finals of the FA Cup and Europa League.
And Evra stressed that while United are not ready to challenge for the Premier League title, Fernandes’ arrival has helped the club head in the right direction.
“United cannot compete with Liverpool or Man City. Not yet. So far there has been a lot of damage but we are heading in the right direction,” Evra told The Guardian.
“When they wanted to sign Bruno Fernandes, Ole sent me a message. I then asked Cristiano Ronaldo for advice. Cristiano said: “Bruno is a very nice person and very professional.”
“I replied: ‘Ole, I’ve spoken to Cristiano. Chase him. ‘And Fernandes made a big impact. Without him, I’m not sure we will qualify for the Champions League. “
While Fernandes’ impact on the field feels real, Evra thinks it’s not the most important thing. With Fernandes now a key player, Evra thinks Paul Pogba can now play more freely thanks to him.
“Paul really misunderstood. People talk more about his hairstyle but he’s a great player, actually he’s a shy person, “continued Evra.
“It is important for Fernandes to remove attention from Paul. It wasn’t fair in the past. Paul is a happy person and we’ve been really close for a long time. He contacted me via Facetime yesterday at 11:30 p.m. I said: ‘Paul I am in bed. Let me sleep’.”
Evra also believes that Ole is the right person to return United to the title. He continued: “United have qualified for the Champions League. It’s not a big achievement but it’s massive progress considering where we started.
“I like Ole. One game when we were on the bench and when I started talking to him. He said: ‘Patrice, I’m focused’.
“He wants to analyze everything so he knows which defender is tired. That’s why we nicknamed him the Babyfaced Assassin. He helped United win the Champions League [as a player in 1999] in that way.”