Carlos Carvalhal says Manchester United are getting one hell of a player in Bruno Fernandes, ahead of his proposed January transfer from Sporting Lisbon.
The former Sporting manager has compared the 25-year-old to Frank Lampard and says he is the best player in Portugal ‘by miles’.
Fernandes is expected to sign for the Red Devils before the transfer window shuts, and the deal could even be announced before the end of the week, with reports in Portugal claiming an agreement between the clubs is close.
It is claimed United will pay around €65million [£55m] in total for the midfielder, who made what could be his final Sporting appearance in the Portuguese League Cup on Tuesday night.
Carvalhal, a special guest on Wednesday’s White and Sawyer show, has described Fernandes as an ‘extraordinary’ player who could make an immediate impact at Old Trafford.
“He is really very good,” the Portuguese told talkSPORT.
“He is a player from another planet, the planet of Portugal is very small to him in this moment, he’s an extraordinary player.
“Bruno is the best player in the league, he’s miles ahead of the others.
“He is a complete player, and if you ask me to compare Bruno with a player, I will say Frank Lampard.
“Last season was fantastic, he scored 20 league goals, the season before he scored 11 and this season he has eight goals and six [sic – seven] assists, and this is a midfielder, not a winger or an attacker.
“He has very good deliveries in free-kicks, makes very good assists, he’s an athlete. He’s not a number ten, he’s an eight in my opinion, he’s a worker, a box-to-box player.
“He also reminds me of Joao Moutinho, who I had at Sporting. I think Bruno Fernandes is different, because he has more goals, but they have something in common – they understand the game very well. He is very organised, he is always talking.
“He is 25 years old, he is in the Portugal first XI and he would be a fantastic addition in my opinion.”
However, Carvalhal did admit his surprise about the reported transfer fee that has been agreed.
Back in June, Sporting’s rivals Benfica managed to tempt Atletico Madrid into splashing out €126m [£113m] to sign 19-year-old winger Joao Felix – the third-highest transfer in the history of football.
European football experts Andy Brassell and Lars Sivertsen discuss reported Man United target Bruno Fernandes
And as he believes Fernandes is a class above, Carvalhal says Sporting supporters will not be happy about losing their star player for less than half of that eye-watering price.
He added: “About money, I don’t know too much, but when Benfica sold Joao Felix to Atletico Madrid for €126m, the fans of Sporting will look to that and think ‘come on, €65m is not enough!’
“Bruno Fernandes is another level to Joao Felix in my opinion, but I don’t know if Bruno at 19 years old was the same level as Felix is now.
“But he is a ready player, he’s a complete player.”
