Bruno Fernandes compared to Paul Scholes by Jaap Stam

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bruno fernandes

Former Manchester United centre-back Jaap Stam has likened Bruno Fernandes to be a similar type of player to Paul Scholes.

Scholes is often regarded as one of the finest midfielders of his generation, helping the Red Devils secure 11 Premier League triumphs and two Champions League crowns before retiring in 2013.

United have since then struggled to replace the midfield maestro ever since he hung up his boots, although United brought in Paul Pogba with an £89million move from Juventus four years ago. But the Frenchman has so far failed to live up to the expectations of the United faithful.

But in the former Sporting Lisbon skipper Fernandes, who has joined United in January, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has a midfielder who can emulate the talents of Scholes.

jaap stam

And this is according to Stam, who played alongside Scholes during his glittering Old Trafford spell.

“I think Fernandes is a bit similar to Scholesy,” Stam told 888sport.

“He’s always looking to play forward. He’s got the ability to score. He’s got a great free-kick. He’s got a great pass. He is always looking to get into certain areas to get onto the ball and be influential in the game.

“He’s not exactly the same. Scholesy was a bit more aggressive without the ball. But in football intelligence he is similar to Paul Scholes.”

Fernandes has seemingly been brought in to replace Paul Pogba who is likely to leave the club in summer.

Pogba as played just eight games for United this season due to injury and not at all since the 4-1 win over Newcastle on Boxing Day, but has stepped up his recovery programme ahead of a possible return to action.

bruno fernandes man utd

The World Cup winner’s agent Mino Raiola said earlier this week that the player views Italy as his “second home” and wants to return to Juventus, while Real Madrid have also been touted with a move.

Stam added: “The difficult thing is that agents are always pressing on behalf of their players.

“But players always want to play themselves, especially when you’re a big player and a manager tells you that you’re not going to play. You then want to go somewhere else and play for another club.

“And if you’re a big player like Pogba is there are always teams asking for you and who want to sign you. That makes things difficult for the manager who has to keep the player calm and make him feel happy and appreciated.

“This is especially true these days with all the money in football.

“It’s an extra dimension to the actual football and with all the money around every player want to be thought of as the best.

“But they need to look at the big picture and look at what the club wants to do and how they want to play.’