Bruno Fernandes has shown himself to be a “leader” at Manchester United, admits club captain Harry Maguire, with the Portugal international midfielder adding “a bit more life” to the Red Devils.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer landed a long-standing transfer target during the January window. A €55 million (£47m/$60m) fee was required to secure Fernandes’ signature, but that is already looking like money well spent given the impact he has made at Old Trafford.
The 25-year-old’s presence has helped to raise collective standards at United, with Maguire happy to have another inspirational figure alongside him.
The world’s most expensive defender claims there are plenty that fit into that category within Solskjaer’s squad, although he is delighted to be the one charged with the task of taking the armband.
“First and foremost it’s a great privilege to be Manchester United captain,” Maguire told Sky Sports. “I have to look after my own game, making sure I’m performing at my level and then look after the team. I think it’s important as a captain that you put the team before your own performance, but you have to be on the pitch to implement that.
“Around the place, we have got a number of leaders now. Bruno has come in and shown himself to be a leader. We have got a leadership group with a lot of experienced pros so we are all trying to help. It’s something that I want to make sure this club goes forward and gets back to where it should be.”
Harry Maguire Manchester City vs Manchester United 2019-20
Maguire was handed captaincy duty at United a matter of months after his record-breaking £80m ($100m) move from Leicester, with the departure of Ashley Young to Inter seeing him take on that role full-time.
“In the six months where I worked with Ash, he was brilliant as a captain,” added Maguire. “He had great authority around the place, he had great respect. I didn’t expect Ashley to move on in January, but I wish him all the best and I did learn a lot from him in that short space of time.”
Young’s exit formed part of Solskjaer’s new vision for United, with Fernandes also key to those plans.
His creativity in the middle of the park was considered to have been a big miss for the Red Devils, with others now benefiting from having a world-class operator to pull the strings.
Maguire said of the winter arrival: “He’s been brilliant since he’s come in. He’s been brilliant off the field around the training field. He’s hungry, he wants to win. You can tell he’s been brought up with that attitude.
“He’s just given us that little bit more life, a bit more creativity in the middle. It’s a start. There are lots of aspects of his game that I’m sure he’ll want to improve and I’m sure he will get better for this club.
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“We have got Paul [Pogba] to come back as well, who will lift his game even more. There is good competition for places in that central midfield now.”