Dimitar Berbatov says Manchester United may have made a mistake in not signing Bruno Fernandes earlier than they did.
But adds that if they had splashed the cash in the summer then maybe the Portuguese wouldn't have been ready to make the jump.
United were linked with Fernandes in the summer ahead of the season, and were expected to make a big-money move for him.
The transfer didn't materialise, but the Red Devils rekindled their interest in the Portugal international in January, and finally signed him for £67million on deadline day.
Fernandes has hit the ground running at United, with the club yet to taste defeat with the midfielder on the pitch.
Suggestions have arisen that the Old Trafford club may have made a mistake in not signing Fernandes sooner, given the positive impact he has had.
Berbatov is on the fence as to whether this is definitely the case, but believes there is certainly an argument for it.
Berbatov told Mirror Football: "You can argue that the club may have made a mistake by not signing him earlier, but you never know what is going to happen and maybe if they got him earlier he might not have been quite ready.
"I think everything happened at the right moment and we can see the result of it now with the way that Fernandes is producing great football.
"If Pogba stays then I think their partnership will only get better, you can see they already have something going with the way they look for each other on the pitch and where they are passing.
"There is clearly a great future for both of them at United."
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