Scholes praises 'phenomenal' Bruno for 2020 impact

Fernandes scored and claimed an assist during the Reds’ 2-2 draw with Leicester City on Boxing Day, taking him to 31 goal involvements in just 28 Premier League appearances for the club.

Scholes, who spoke to us after the game, was working for BT Sport, who produced a graphic which emphasised how Bruno has helped change our fortunes since signing in January.

A Premier League table displaying results from Fernandes’s debut onwards shows the Reds in second, with 58 points – just two behind champions Liverpool, with United having played one game less.

And our former no.18 hopes the Portuguese midfielder’s form continues into 2021 and beyond, even suggesting Fernandes is a better player than him in terms of productivity in front of goal – quite the claim, from someone who is firmly ensconced in the top 10 of our all-time goalscorers list.

“What he’s doing is phenomenal, really,” Scholes told Tunnel Insider, our behind-the-scenes show, from the King Power Stadium.

“I think if you look, since he’s been [here], United would be top of the league if they won their game in hand, with more points than Liverpool, which is strange to think really because they’ve had such a bad start to the season.

“Well, you thought it was a bad start to the season, but they’re still right in there and I think they can only get better.

“The numbers he’s produced are just ridiculous, let’s hope he carries on.

“He’s better than me. He’s different to me,” Paul continued. “He scores more goals than me, he creates more goals than me.

“I’d like to play with him, probably behind him would be alright. But no, he’s been sensational, a big difference.

“I think before he came to the team, United could hardly create a chance with some of the stuff they were playing, but now they look like they can score three, four or five goals every game.”

When asked if United, who dropped to fourth after Saturday’s games, could maintain a title challenge, Scholes suggested it would be tough to keep up with the pace Liverpool have set.

However, if the Reds can stay injury free, he sees no reason why Solskjaer’s men can't continue to push the champions.

“If people think Manchester City are in the mix, you have to think we’re in and around it,” asserted Scholes.

“We possibly need to improve because Liverpool have set such a high standard. We’ve already lost three games - I think the last two winners of the league have lost three and four games.

“We’re 14 games in and we’re going to have to go on some run, there’s no doubt about that. “I think if Ole can keep his best 12, 13, 14 players fit, I think we’ll have a chance.”