Former Manchester United star Jaap Stam reckons Bruno Fernandes is a similar type of player to Paul Scholes.
Scholes is regarded as one of the finest midfielders of his generation and helped the Red Devils secure 11 Premier League triumphs and two Champions League crowns before retiring in 2013.
United have struggled to replace the midfield maestro ever since he hung up his boots, with a certain Paul Pogba failing to live up to expectations since his £89million move from Juventus four years ago.
But in Fernandes, the former Sporting Lisbon captain who finally sealed his long-awaited move last month, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has a midfielder who can emulate the talents of Scholes.
That's according to Stam, who played alongside Scholes during his glittering Old Trafford spell.
"I think Fernandes is a bit similar to Scholesy," Stam told 888sport.
"He’s always looking to play forward. He’s got the ability to score. He’s got a great free-kick. He’s got a great pass. He is always looking to get into certain areas to get onto the ball and be influential in the game.
"He’s not exactly the same. Scholesy was a bit more aggressive without the ball. But in football intelligence he is similar to Paul Scholes.’
Fernandes has seemingly been brought in as a potential replacement for Pogba, who looks likely to leave the club in the summer.
The World Cup winner has played just eight games for United this season due to injury and not at all since the 4-1 win over Newcastle on Boxing Day, but has stepped up his recovery programme ahead of a possible return to action.
Pogba's agent Mino Raiola say earlier this week that the player views Italy as his "second home" and wants to return to Juventus, while Real Madrid have also been touted with a move.
Stam added: "The difficult thing is that agents are always pressing on behalf of their players.
"But players always want to play themselves, especially when you’re a big player and a manager tells you that you’re not going to play. You then want to go somewhere else and play for another club.
"And if you’re a big player like Pogba is there are always teams asking for you and who want to sign you. That makes things difficult for the manager who has to keep the player calm and make him feel happy and appreciated.
"This is especially true these days with all the money in football.
"It’s an extra dimension to the actual football and with all the money around every player want to be thought of as the best.
"But they need to look at the big picture and look at what the club wants to do and how they want to play.’
