Bruno Fernandes, Manchester United | Fernandes’ immediate success surprises Stamsø Møller:

The playmaker came from Portuguese football in January, and has been a strong contributor to Ole Gunnar Solskjær being able to prepare his Manchester United for the Champions League next season after finishing third in the league.

It is not uncommon for managers to choose to phase new players into the team after picking them up from another European league.

Jürgen Klopp spent many months implementing, among others, Fabinho and Naby Keita in Liverpool’s midfield, but Solskjær immediately put his trust in Fernandes and threw him into the team against Wolverhampton on February 1 – only three days after the transfer was completed.

And where Keita and Fabinho needed time to acclimatize to a new culture and a new league, Fernandes took the Premier League by storm from the first kick on the ball.

This has surprised TV 2 expert Simen Stamsø Møller.

– Yes, 100 percent. I never thought in the world that he would deliver so well so fast. I was one of those people who thought you had to give him some time. There are more examples of players who need time than those who take the level immediately, he tells Nettavisen.

Eight goals and seven assists were the result in 14 games for Fernandes, who thus pushed Solskjær’s team back into the top four in the Premier League.

– He woke up a sleeping giant almost alone, and it’s absolutely incredible. He has been a revelation. It is possible that it will be a bit bitter (in the time ahead, red note), and he looked tired at the end of the season, but that is not so strange. If he delivers 80 percent of what he has delivered so far, it is still a supersignation, is Stamsø Møller’s certificate.

Also read: Bruno Fernandes: This is how the Manchester United star’s way to the top (Nettavisen Pluss)

– Decisive

The TV 2 expert emphasizes that he believes Fernandes has been absolutely crucial for Solskjær to be able to pass both Leicester and Chelsea on the table.

He justifies this with the fact that the Portuguese has given Solskjær’s crew a new dimension, and is particularly impressed by the leadership qualities of the former Sporting captain.

– It seems that he does a lot with the rest of the players as well, and he plays with a confidence and security that spreads. It is possible that Paul Pogba has a higher top level, but he swings badly and does not have the same ability to get those around him to follow him safely. Bruno Fernandes plays as if he is on the loop, at the same time as he delivers goal points in almost every single match.

The transfer saga around Fernandes was a long one, but on January 29, the 25-year-old finally got ready for Manchester United after coming from Sporting for around 55 million euros.

Also read: The United legend with a clear message to Solskjær: –⁠ He costs the club points

Before the Portuguese’s arrival, Solskjær had struggled to get it to swing by United. The team was bad out just before the turn of the year, and the distance up to the important fourth place gradually became large.

Leicester were 14 points ahead of Solskjær and United on January 29, while the gap up to Chelsea was six points.

However, in line with Fernandes’ entry into the team, United began to win, and the 0-2 loss to Burnley on January 22 was in many ways a turning point.

Since then, Solskjær did not lose a single match, and the final sprint sent him into good company – much thanks to Fernandes.

Stamsø Møller points out that a third place in the Premier League is a minimum requirement for a club like Manchester United, but emphasizes that the context means that it has all ended with a big boost for Solskjær.

– It has to do with the fact that they started very badly, and that they had long been heading towards what was roughly the weakest season in the club’s recent history. Turning it around makes it seem like there is a lot of positivity around the club, but a lot stood and fell on the match against Leicester.

The end of the series was almost like a series final for Solskjær when they met Brendan Rodgers’ team at King Power Stadium.

However, the 2-0 victory meant that United snatched a CL place in front of the snout of just Sunday’s opponent.

– Had it not been for the fact that they landed on their feet, I think people would have been much more indifferent to Solskjær’s project. Now that it was approved, I think supporters, players who are there and players who can be picked up, look at Manchester United as a much more attractive club.

Cleared big before Christmas

The league rush is also a solid boost for Solskjær, who was under massive pressure before Christmas.

Neil Custis in The Sun wrote in December that Solskjær should have told the players that he was going to get fired if there were losses in the two subsequent matches – a claim Solskjær saw himself forced to reject in the strongest terms during a press conference.

Stamsø Møller says he never thought the former Molde manager would be fired at Old Trafford when it stormed the most, and believes the Christian wonder’s demeanor makes him fit very well into the club he himself was part of as a player for 11 years.

– I think his personality means that he can withstand both adversity and success very well. And I think it spreads to the players. He is not someone who throws players under the bus or gets angry at the media. At the same time, he is not the one who takes off when things are going well, and he understands how to behave in adversity and success. This means that things are fairly stable around him, and then it is ultimately the club that gets to assess whether he is the right man, he says and continues.

– Now they have chosen a path, and now they will stand by it. I talked to people who have good contacts in United, and they say it takes a lot for Solskjær not to continue to be a manager in the foreseeable future, and that is good after all. They have chosen a path, and it is not about shopping for superstars and in life and death winning everything every single year, but now it will be built in the long term. And then it is good to have a man who knows how to behave in adversity.

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