Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes spent the majority of his youth career playing at centre-back, his former coach has revealed.
Fernandes completed his long-awaited switch to Old Trafford in the January transfer window and has made an instant impact at the club, becoming a firm favourite with supporters.
The 25-year-old gained a reputation as one of the most prolific midfielders in European football during his spell at Sporting Lisbon and has continued his goal scoring streak under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
However, his former coach Antonio Peres revealed Fernandes once played at the centre of defence before growing frustrated with the role.
Peres believes Fernandes might not have been moved further up the field during his youth career had there been other options available.
"We were evaluating players – where they could produce more; which positions they should be playing – as we do at the start of every season," he told FourFourTwo.
"If we’d had a No.10 in our team, maybe he wouldn’t have moved forward on the pitch.
"But we didn’t, and he took his chance. He was an instant hit – he scored in almost every game
"As a captain, Bruno set the bar very high for others.
"He was always working on his own after training, taking free-kicks, doing shooting drills."
