da bwin： It took a while, but Manchester United finally got their man during the January transfer window.
da betsul： The Red Devils had been in pursuit of Bruno Fernandes since last summer, but the 19-time Portugal international ended up staying with his then club, Sporting Lisbon, until the start of this year. However, he eventually made the switch, costing the Old Trafford outfit £47m initially, which could rise to £67.7m should he match the add-on clauses in that deal.
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That is an awfully big sum for a player from the Portuguese league, but his performances there made the fee fully justifiable. In 137 games for Sporting, he scored 63 goals and provided 52 assists, including 15 goals and 14 assists in 28 games this term.
Even in such a short amount of time at Old Trafford, his influence has been incredible.
Here, we take a look at the stats that prove just that.
Without Fernandes in the starting XI: 18W 11D 10L, 46% win percentage
Before Fernandes, United’s campaign had been up and down. There had been some positives – they progressed easily from their Europa League group, for example, whilst they also managed to reach the semi-finals of the League Cup before losing across two legs to Manchester City – but there were plenty of negatives too.
Those included defeats to FC Astana, the Kazakhstan minnows, as well as West Ham, Crystal Palace, Newcastle United, Bournemouth and Watford, all of whom are in the bottom half of the Premier League table as it stands.
In fact, they won just 18 of the 39 matches they played before Fernandes’ arrival, losing 10 and drawing 11. As they look to qualify for the Champions League after missing out last season, that kind of form would not have been enough for them to attain their objectives.
With Fernandes in the starting XI: 6W 2D 0L, 75% win percentage
Of course, it is only early days, but the change in United’s showings with the 25-year-old is eye-catching. He has started eight out of a possible nine games since he made the switch, and so far, they remain unbeaten, winning six and drawing two.
It is not as if all of those games have been easy, either – they triumphed against both the Citizens and Chelsea, both of whom are currently in the top four of the table, whilst they also managed a draw away at Everton. So far, Fernandes has three goals and four assists for the 20-time English champions – his influence has been incredible.
Verdict
Already, Fernandes’ transfer to United is looking like the signing of the window. Many hoped that he would have a big impact considering the nature of his displays in his homeland, but nobody will likely have been expecting him to adapt to the English top flight with such ease.
With United now just three points off Chelsea in that last Champions League qualification spot, making that tournament is a very real possibility, and that would be a huge boost on a number of different levels. Financially, it could be massive – they are braced for a £67m revenue loss due to their absence from this year’s tournament, for example.
Qualification would not only allow United to boost their situation from that respect, but a better quality of player would likely be interested in making the switch as well – Europe’s premier club competition has immense pulling power.
Ed Woodward has received plenty of slack from the club’s supporters in the past, but in this case, he deserves praise for bringing him to the club. Of course, United need more if they are to challenge at the very top of the table on a regular basis, but signings like this at least give an indication that they are going in the right direction.