Bruno Fernandes reveals Solskjaer's role in Manchester United move

The Portuguese midfielder also revealed that joining the Red Devils was a dream for him.

Bruno Fernandes has put light on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s role behind his move to Manchester United. Solskjaer had in fact traveled to Portugal in January to watch Bruno play live before the midfielder’s transfer to Old Trafford was finalized. The 25-year-old has uplifted the spirits of the entire team ever since his arrival, having scored three goals and registered four assists in the nine matches that he has played.

In a recent Q&A session on the club’s official website, Bruno Fernandes was asked about why he decided to shift to the Red Devils. The midfielder remarked, “For me, the most important was obviously the confidence of the coach. I need to know I am backed from the coach, because sometimes when you change club, not every time the coach wants you.

“Not like I need to come because the coach wants me to play, no, not like this, but I want to feel the confidence from the coach. You come, you are a choice for me and you come. I need you, I want you, it's not like you come and I ask but I will play? No, this for me is not the point. For me, the point is the confidence he has in me. If he has confidence in me, then the rest is working.”

The rumors mills had been abuzz about Bruno Fernandes joining Manchester United ever since he rounded off a remarkable 2018/19 season with Sporting CP. In that campaign, Bruno played primarily as an attacking midfielder and yet amassed a whopping 32 goals.

On the other hand, Paul Pogba’s inconsistent run of form coupled with his long injury layoffs meant that Solskjaer’s side lacked substantial creative qualities at the centre of the park. Though they were unsuccessful in luring Bruno back in summer, the club managed to do so in January.

Speaking of his association with the club, Bruno Fernandes said, “Joining Manchester United was so easy because since I was a kid, it was a dream, so for me, doing this step, a big step to the Premier League to Manchester United was perfect. I looked at Manchester with more interest when Cristiano [Ronaldo] was here because it's normal when you have Portuguese players in some teams, you look at them more than other teams.

“But at that moment, I started to look at Manchester in a different way because you see Cristiano but then you see also the team and you have Paul Scholes, you have [Wayne] Rooney, you have [Ryan] Giggs and you have Roy Keane, [Eric] Cantona before.

“You have a lot of players… I don't know… [Ruud] van Nistelrooy… I can stay here for hours saying all the names of players for Manchester United. Also Nani, who has played with me.”

Manchester United are placed in the fifth spot in the league table. They have won 45 points from 29 matches, and are three points behind fourth-placed Chelsea. However, the competition has presently been suspended due to the COVID-19 outbreak all across the world.