Bruno Fernandes has overtaken Kevin De Bruyne to become the best player in the Premier League
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| I think Fernandes has already overtaken De Bruyne |
Fernandes was an inspired signing for Manchester United in January 2020 after joining from Sporting Lisbon in a deal worth an initial £47million.
His impact at Old Trafford was immediate and helped Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side achieve a third-place finish.
This term, he’s been even better and already has ten goals and seven assists in just 15 games, with United sitting second in the table at the end of 2020.
De Bruyne won the Premier League player of the season prize for 2019/2020 after grabbing 20 assists but former England striker Ashton believes he is no longer the top dog.
He told talkSPORT Drive: “I think Fernandes has already overtaken De Bruyne.
“You can see the difference when [Sergio] Aguero doesn’t play for Man City. You can see the difference in De Bruyne, in terms of he looks like a frustrated figure in a lot of the games.
“He’s still class, of course, as he’s got seven assists this season and the same as Bruno.
“It’s that goal tally I think that Fernandes brings you. That goal threat that’s the difference between him and Kevin De Bruyne and that’s why I’d pick him and why I think he’s gone ahead of him as, for me, the best player in the Premier League.”
The stats are also there to back up Ashton’s view that Fernandes has surpassed De Bruyne since he joined United in January.
In that time, the Man United midfielder has more goals and assists than his Man City rival.
Fernandes has played more games than the Belgium midfielder but has a goal involvement every 75 minutes compared to 100 minutes for De Bruyne.
Ashton noted the difference in De Bruyne when Aguero has been out of the team and the stats suggest there is some weight to that argument.
The Man City player has created many more chances, and chances from open play, than Fernandes but his teammates haven’t been able to convert those chances.
Since the Portugal midfielder made his debut on February 1, Aguero has made just ten Premier League appearances.