Bruno Fernandes arrived at Manchester United from Sporting and in his final months at the Portuguese club, he played under the orders of Silas.
The Red Devils host Atlético Madrid in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 tie at Old Trafford on Tuesday.
Ahead of the clash between the two clubs, Marca have talked about the interest shown by the La Liga winners in signing the attacking midfielder before he moved to Manchester. It’s said the 27-year-old received a ‘barrage of offers’ and among them was an approach from Los Rojiblancos.
Manchester United won the battle and Diego Simeone’s side must be wary of Fernandes later today. It was the Portugal international who assisted Anthony Elanga’s equaliser in Madrid last month.
The newspaper interviewed Silas, who admitted losing Fernandes midway through the 2019/20 season was a hard blow for Sporting.
“He is a very Atlético player. Brutal, very competitive. We agreed with him, he left in January. It was a hard blow. We lost [him] in the middle of the year. It was not easy to find a quick solution for that…” he said.
“Bruno has some characteristics as a person that help him a lot. He is very outgoing. He loves football and talks about it continuously. He speaks Portuguese, Italian, English, Spanish… and everything very well. He has an ear for language… It allows him to reach the Premier League and adapt.”
Silas gave an insight into how the current Manchester United star acted in training at the Portuguese club and how he can pose danger to the opposition.
“He’s a beast in training. I’ve never seen anyone like him. He stays an hour kicking, through the air, on the ground. He’s one of the best, but the teams have to help him,” Fernandes’ former coach explained.
“Bruno is a footballer who is not easy to stop. He is not like Messi, who dribbles around you.
“Bruno’s danger is when you’re not seeing him. The ball on the wings… when the ball falls to him and there is no one in front of him, he hits it very well. With the right, with the left. Reminds me of [Paul] Scholes.
“If you give him two metres it is like a penalty. he’s incredible. Direct free kicks… the way he kicks is incredible. He is a team player. You will not see him dribble past three, but if he catches it on the edge, he is very dangerous. He also has a great last pass and works very well.”
