Man Utd new boy Bruno Fernandes tipped to follow in the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo
by Alex SmithDimitar Berbatov has backed Bruno Fernandes to follow in Cristiano Ronaldo's footsteps and become a Manchester United superstar.
Portuguese midfielder Fernandes confirmed to arrival at Old Trafford on Thursday in a deal initially worth £46.6million, although there are up to £21.2million in add-ons.
The former Sporting Lisbon ace is in line to make his United debut against Wolves this weekend.
Fernandes is not the first Portugal international to move to the Red Devils, with wingers Ronaldo and Nani both famed for their stints at the club.
And Berbatov, who played alongside Ronaldo and Nani at United, reckons Fernandes has all the tools to follow his compatriots to the stardom.
Berbatov told Betfair: "He is following in the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani and I hope he makes the same impact that both those players did.
"I mean what can you say about Ronaldo that hasn't been already said? When I share the changing room with him he was always a great professional, he had a great work ethic and he was a great lad as well.
"He could take a joke and give it back. At first it was a bit difficult for Nani because he was playing in a similar position to Cristiano, but he held his own when he needed to.
"I heard rumours that Barcelona were also interested in signing him, and if that was the case he has shown that he prefers United so he must have seen something he liked.
"He's going to play but he is a big money signing and now he needs to justify to the club why he is worth so much.
"He doesn't need to think about the price and as a midfield player I don't think he needs to focus on scoring goals, his purpose is to control games, get assists and help his team mates and the most important thing is to get into the rhythm of the Premier League."
Berbatov has warned United fans against pinning all their hopes of Fernandes to solve the club's woes.
"It's a big signing and United have paid a lot of money for Bruno Fernandes and I hope he will give the team a boost, but to rely on just one man to turn things around is going to make things difficult, I would like to be proven wrong and of course I want him to do well but it's foolish just to rely on him.
"It shows intent from United and I hope they buy someone else.
"He is joining up with a young, great team, and the players that are there will see that effort is being made to improve the quality of the side, and I'm sure they will want to up their game and impress, especially the midfield players because they have competition now and I'm sure they will be telling themselves that they need to put more effort in during training and matches.
"Overall, it's good because it shows the intent and calibre of Manchester United, I hope other big names see this signing and think that they was to come to Old Trafford too because like I said just signing one player is a good first step but they need a couple more.
"When someone pays a lot of money for you, you are always going to have that pressure on your back. Pressure from yourself, pressure from the fans, pressure from the press, pressure from everyone.
"That's why it is up to him and the people around him to make things comfortable so that he doesn't think about those pressures, otherwise it's going to be a problem and of course his team mates will help him to settle.
"Let's not forget that he is coming from outside of England and now he will be in a different league, with a different tempo and different teams.
"Manchester United had been chasing him for a while and hopefully everyone makes him feel great because he needs to step up straight away into the team and help them."