Bruno Fernandes has been handed his full debut, just two days after completing his £46.5m move to Manchester United.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has thrown the Portuguese midfielder straight in from the start for this evening’s game against Wolves.
With Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay ruled out with long-term injury and Nemanja Matic suspended, Solskjaer was desperately short of options in the middle of the park.
On Friday United’s manager insisted Fernandes was ready to play and was comfortable comparing him to Paul Scholes after handing him the No18 shirt.
“He is a goal scoring and assisting midfielder, a little bit like Paul Scholes,” he said. “He can strike a ball fantastically. He has got such a wonderful technique, but he also is going to get assists from set pays and from his range of passes.
“He is a similar type to Scholesy - fiery, passionate, hates losing and the same number on the back of the shirt.
“We hope that Bruno will come in here and have a fantastic career at Man United. He has already given the players a boost.
“I think he is another piece in the jigsaw. I am sure he will give us that X-factor that we have been missing at times this year. It’s an important piece in the puzzle that we are trying to solve.”
Man United XI: De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw; Fernandes, Fred; Mata, Pereira, James; Martial
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