Paul Scholes makes surprise Bruno Fernandes ability admission

Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has confessed he believes Bruno Fernandes has already proven himself to be a better player than he ever was at Old Trafford.

A January signing from Sporting CP, Fernandes has completely exploded since his move to United. The midfielder has managed 26 goals and 16 assists in his 44 appearances for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side, often single-handedly dragging his team to victory.

No player has been involved in more goals in the Premier League since Fernandes’ arrival than the man himself, and Scholes admitted he has been captivated by the Portugal international in 2020.

“What he’s doing is phenomenal, really,” Scholes told United‘s Tunnel Insider. “I think if you look, since he’s been [here], United would be top of the league if they won their game in hand, with more points than Liverpool, which is strange to think really because they’ve had such a bad start to the season.

“Well, you thought it was a bad start to the season, but they’re still right in there and I think they can only get better. The numbers he’s produced are just ridiculous, let’s hope he carries on.”

Few know what it takes to be a successful midfielder at Old Trafford quite like Scholes, who managed 709 appearances for United across 20 trophy-laden years at the club, but the Englishman was adamant that Fernandes is already on a level of his own.

“He’s better than me. He’s different to me,” Scholes added. “He scores more goals than me, he creates more goals than me. I’d like to play with him, probably behind him would be alright. But no, he’s been sensational, a big difference.

“I think before he came to the team, United could hardly create a chance with some of the stuff they were playing, but now they look like they can score three, four or five goals every game.”

Fernandes’ form has helped dragged United into a Premier League title race, but Scholes warned fans that the Red Devils still need to improve before they can be seen as genuine contenders to lift the trophy.

“If people think Manchester City are in the mix, you have to think we’re in and around it,” he said. “We possibly need to improve because Liverpool have set such a high standard. We’ve already lost three games – I think the last two winners of the league have lost three and four games.

“We’re 14 games in and we’re going to have to go on some run, there’s no doubt about that. “I think if Ole can keep his best 12, 13, 14 players fit, I think we’ll have a chance.”

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