Ex-Manchester United star Rio Ferdinand has hailed the impact that Bruno Fernandes has made during his time at Old Trafford.

After scoring the winner against Aston Villa at the weekend, the Portuguese international now has 115 goals and assists in 178 appearances; figures that Ferdinand wryly claimed would get him “a statue” at Arsenal:

“Did you see Bruno’s numbers? Wow. The guy… it’s remarkable what he is doing. If he was at Arsenal he’d probably have a statue now at the Emirates with the numbers he has done! Does Bruno take the captaincy next year? 100 percent, I think he does. Since Bruno signed [for Man Utd] he has been the most impactful player we have had.”

Fernandes deserves a lot of praise for his contributions since arriving at United three and a half years ago. Although some of his antics do lead to him getting in trouble sometimes, the Red Devils are a much better team when he is on the pitch.

While the midfielder may not be quite as prolific as he was during his first couple of seasons, he still pops up with some crucial goals and now he is the de-facto captain, with Harry Maguire demoted to bench duties, he always leads by example. His importance to the team is not in question and manager Erik ten Hag will be hoping he continues to be a major influence over the coming years.