Manchester United’s transfer successes over the past decade is a small list, however, one player has turned out to be an incredible signing.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has far from held back in his stance on some of the worst signings made at Old Trafford over the past decade.
The Manchester United part-owner has been quite open in his dismay over the way the club was run during the post-Sir Alex Ferguson years.
Recently, Sir Jim appeared on The Overlap, speaking to Gary Neville, in which he revealed United still owe £89m a year in payments to selling clubs over deals for the likes of Antony or Casemiro.
These comments were not well received by Casemiro, with Sir Jim effectively highlighting the Brazilian as the kind of transfer United had to avoid going forward.
There was one player exempt from any such critique after an early Paul Scholes comparison.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer compared Bruno Fernandes to Paul Scholes
While many of the arrivals since 2013 can be considered ‘flops’, Bruno Fernandes is an exception to the rule, instead establishing himself on the cusp of being a club legend.
Back when he signed, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer envisioned the success he could have at the club, as quoted by The Guardian in 2020.
“He is a goalscoring and assisting midfielder, a little bit like Paul Scholes. He can strike a ball fantastically. He has got such a wonderful technique, but he also is going to get assists from set plays and from his range of passes.
“He is a similar type to Scholesy: fiery, passionate, hates losing and same number (18) on the back of the shirt.”
Continuing, Solskjaer raved about the versatility of Bruno.
“Bruno can do absolutely everything apart from … he’s probably not a target man in the box, but he is such a good footballer.
“He can play in a three-man midfield, he can play as a 10, he can play in off the side, he can play in a diamond. We will give him his time to find his best position.”
Now, 277 games later and Bruno has 95 goals and 81 assists, while recently, the comparison has become even more truthful with the club captain’s move further back in the midfield.
This wasn’t the only praise Solskjaer had for Bruno at the time.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer tipped Bruno Fernandes to bring the X-factor for Manchester United
Bruno left many excited, and due to the Sporting CP link, some thought the second coming of Cristiano Ronaldo was imminent.
However, while rubbishing these comparisons at the time, Solskjaer did explain that Bruno would bring an ‘X-factor’ to United, and he did exactly that.
“Cristiano is unique,” Solskjær said of his former teammate before the return of Ronaldo.
“We hope that Bruno will come in here and have a fantastic career. He has already given the players a boost. Just by meeting him, they can see what type of human being he is, his personality, but to start comparing him with Cristiano is not fair on the boy.
“I think he is another piece in the jigsaw. I am sure he will give us that X factor that we have been missing at times this year. It’s an important piece in the puzzle that we are trying to solve.”
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