Bruno Fernandes has hailed Manchester United new signing Raphael Varane and backed the rest of the defenders to make valuable contributions this season.
Speaking to United Review, as relayed by Transfer Market Web, Manchester United superstar Bruno Fernandes has praised new signing Raphael Varane while also speaking highly of the rest of the defenders.
Manchester United, having been linked with Varane year after year for nearly a decade, arrived at Manchester United this past summer, signing from Real Madrid. The 28-year-old, one of the most decorated defenders of the modern era, has settled in well at Old Trafford already and is showing signs of growing into a key player for the Red Devils.
Fernandes, speaking of the 2018 FIFA World Cup winner, said: “Of course, he’s a winner. Everyone knows that. He’s a nice guy and works really hard and is always pushing everyone to do better. I think he has a great mentality.”
At the same time the Portuguese international also hailed the other Manchester United defenders like Harry Maguire, Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof, insisting that they will have a key role to play as well.
“At the same time, we cannot forget the other players. Rapha has been brilliant, but Victor [Lindelof] has had an amazing, brilliant beginning to the season. Eric [Bailly] comes later because of the Olympic Games, but he’s a player we trust a lot. ‘H’ [Harry Maguire] we already know is doing really well,” he said.
Fernandes also spoke highly of Phil Jones, who has struggled with fitness issues for a good part of the last 18 months. At the same time, we have Phil [Jones] coming back to start playing with the Under-23s – we are really happy to have him back after a long, long stop for him. It’s been difficult for him, being out of the team for a long time,” he said.
Further elaborating on Varane and the qualities he brings to the table, the former Sporting CP star added: “Rapha is really important for us, and has been really important for us. But the main point is everyone being okay to do the best that they can. In football, we all have different qualities, and Rapha has different qualities to Victor, H, Eric and Phil, but they can all add different things.
“Still he’s a little bit shy in some ways because it’s the beginning for him at United, but I think he’s a leader. I think he can help in that part of the game.”
