Former Manchester United midfielder Bryan Robson has hailed Bruno Fernandes' drive and determination, and believes the Portugal international is the closest thing he has seen to Paul Scholes.
Fernandes has firmly established himself as one of the top players in the Premier League since his £67.6 million arrival from Sporting last January, with his stunning impact at Old Trafford seeing him win four player of the month awards in a calendar year.
This campaign, the 26-year-old has picked up where he left off last season, scoring 17 goals in 32 appearances in all competitions, and his performances have helped United to second in the table behind rivals Manchester City.
And Robson, who himself became a firm fan favourite during his time at United, believes the club have a superstar on their hands, thanks to certain traits off the pitch, as well as on it.
“What I so like is watching Bruno, because he’s got quality on the ball and work-rate and everything,” Robson told United's official website.
“But, what I like to see, when something doesn’t come off, or the ball goes dead, is you can see him talking to the players around him.
“He’s trying to organise and is talking and whatever he’s saying, I’m not bothered about what he’s actually saying because you know it’ll either be encouragement or a rollicking for somebody.
“This is what you have got to have if you want to win titles and win trophies.
"You’ve got to have those demands of each other. You’ve got to have that within your team and I can see Bruno has got that.”
Fernandes is expected to start against Everton on Saturday evening, and Robson believes the Portugal star is starting to remind him of United legend Scholes.
“As soon as he came in, I think that I watched him in the first six or seven games and his work-rate and his quality on the ball, you can see that right from the start,” Robson added.
“I couldn’t give him a higher accolade than when I said he’s probably the closest thing to Scholesy I’ve seen.
“His vision, touch on the ball and always wanting to be on the ball, and then the quality of his finishing and passing.
"That’s why I’ve said he reminded me of Scholesy and I’ve seen nothing to change my opinion over the last year.”
