Ian Wright believes Manchester United have Bruno Fernandes to thank for being in the Premier League title race.
Wright, the former Arsenal striker, claims the ‘reason United are where they are is purely down’ to the Portugal international, who has been a revelation since moving to Old Trafford a year ago.
Fernandes has been outrageously efficient this season.
He has banged in 11 goals and provided a further seven assists in the Premier League, scoring a further five goals in the Champions League and Carabao Cup.
His contributions have fired United to second in the table – level on points with Liverpool and with a game in hand – while he will hope to help his side past Manchester City on Wednesday night into the Carabao Cup final, where Spurs await.
Wright hailed his impact in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side and questioned where they’d be without him.
‘Bruno Fernandes may easily have the biggest impact I’ve seen of any player that’s signed for any team in the short space of time on a club of that size,’ he said on Wrighty’s House.
‘The reason why Manchester United are where they are, for me, is purely down to Bruno Fernandes and what he brings to that team.
‘What I love about him, when you watch him you can see he’s already had a look and when the ball comes into him he flicks it off into space and someone is running into oceans of space.
‘People are trying to get close to him, he might take a touch, bam and someone is away.
‘Against Leeds it was a masterclass in his movement and touch. He dragged people all over the place, dragged Kalvin Phillips all over the place.
‘It was a beautiful thing to watch. He has had one the biggest impacts I’ve seen anyone have in the Premier League that’s not a striker.
‘You look at Mo Salah, how he blasted. It’s normally strikers. He’s a midfielder, when you look at him he’s very slight, there’s hardly anything of him.
‘He scored against Everton, it was a Shearer-like header. The timing and the way he headed that in the goal. He just finished, done.’
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