Paul Scholes feels he was a ‘totally different’ player to Bruno Fernandes, dismissing Manchester United boss Ole Solskjaer’s comparison of the two players.
Fernandes arrived at the club from Sporting in the January window and has made a stunning impact, immediately becoming a key part of the team with a couple of goals and assists.
On his arrival, Ole Solskjaer likened the player to club legend Scholes, telling Sky Sports: ‘Scholsey, he’s a similar type in skills, he could do absolutely everything as well, Scholesy, so no pressure.
‘As a player he can do more or less everything on the pitch, he’s a midfielder, box-to-box, loads of energy, scores goals, assists.’
Solskjaer repeated the comparison in February after Bruno Fernandes had started to make his mark on the team.
‘He has come in and given everyone a big boost – not just the team, the supporters too,’ said the Norwegian.
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‘He felt from the first minute like a big personality in our group. He was confident straight away and is like a mix between Scholes and [Juan Sebastian] Veron’.
However, Scholes does not agree at all and sees Fernandes as playing an entirely different role to the one he used to take up in the Red devils’ midfield.
‘I don’t think I was a player like him, I know there’s been a few comparisons but I just think we’re totally different,’ Scholes told MUTV Group Chat.
‘I think he plays higher up the pitch, I think he’s got great skill to beat a man, he looks like he wants to score goals, he’ll shoot from anywhere, he’s capable of playing a pass.
‘His set-pieces are good, his free-kicks are good. All of a sudden they look like they’re going to create, they look like they’re going to score goal every time he’s in possession of the ball.
‘I think we’re totally different, he has the skills to go past a man. The only comparison is the shooting, we both think about goals and where our centre-forward is going to be.
‘His set-pieces are brilliant, I was useless at set-pieces so that’s another comparison gone down the drain.’
Paul Scholes believes a better comparison for the Portugal international is Manchester City star David Silva, although he is loathed to mention him.
‘I don’t like talking about City, but you think of David Silva – that player that links all the play together, and I think we’ve found him in Fernandes,’ said Scholes. ‘He’s totally transformed the team.’
