Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville saw signs of Juan Sebastian Veron in new club signing Bruno Fernandes’ debut for the Red Devils against Wolverhampton Wanderers but was ultimately encouraged by the midfielder’s display.
Fernandes played the entire 90 minutes at Old Trafford this Saturday as the fallen Premier League giants were held to another 0-0 Premier League draw by Nuno Espirito Sanchez’ Wolves.
The Portuguese playmaker signed in a move that could eventually be worth £67million from his native Sporting CP and had five shots in the game, three of which were on target, and attempted 88 passes which was the most by any player on the pitch, but he did not directly create a chance for any of his team-mates which was surprising.
Ex- England international Neville saw enough to take the positives from Fernandes’ composed start to life at the Theatre of Dreams but felt a positional switch paid dividends after initially comparing his efforts in the number 10 role to those of former United star Veron, who struggled to fit in with the club between 2001 and 2003.
Speaking to Sky Sports, the 44-year-old pundit was pleased with the 24-year-old Fernandes but thought that the midfielder was better in a defensive midfield role, “It’s early days but I like what he did, I thought he did okay, it was a difficult game for him. We’ve heard a lot about his assists and his goals and how he can affect games at the front of the pitch, but when he was moved into more of a holding midfield role alongside Fred in the second half I actually thought he did quite well. “
Neville further added, “He showed a lot of experience and discipline to not expose himself too much. In the first half, he was in a number 10 role and he reminded me a bit of what Juan Sebastien Veron used to do when he first came to Manchester United. He charged around everywhere and moved everywhere. He was busy and was looking for spaces but didn’t really play in a position.”
