Odion Ighalo has hailed Manchester United teammate Bruno Fernandes and highlighted three qualities which will allow him to “take the Premier League by storm”.
Fernandes moved to Old Trafford from Sporting Lisbon in a £67.6m January move and has shone for the Red Devils, picking up the Premier League Player of the Month award for February.
The 25-year-old has scored three goals and provided four assists in his nine appearances in all competitions and formed a potent partnership with his fellow midfielders and attackers.
And Ighalo, who joined United on loan from Shanghai Shenhua in January, believes his teammate possesses three qualities which will allow him to establish himself as one of the Premier League’s top talents.
"He is intelligent, he has foresight, he has vision,” Ighalo said. “He sees what he wants to do with the ball before it comes to him.
"You can see the understanding between him and (Anthony) Martial, you can see the understanding between me and him, so he's a very good player. And he's not even settled down yet!
"He comes from a very different place to the Premier League. When that guy has settled down, he's going to take the Premier League by storm.”
As Ighalo warns, Fernandes’ performances in the Portuguese Liga NOS do make for worrying reading for Manchester United ’s league rivals.
He scored 63 goals and provided 52 assists in 137 appearances for Sporting and was enjoying a sparkling 2019-20 campaign when United came calling in January.
Though he plays primarily as an attacking midfielder, Fernandes is also able to play deeper in central midfield or just behind the main forward as a second striker.
He has cemented himself as a regular in the Portugal side and has made 19 appearances since his national team debut in 2017, scoring twice.
