Former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has been left 'surprised' by Sporting Lisbon midfielder Bruno Fernandes who has been linked to the Premier League club.
Fernandes, 24, has attracted interest from the Manchester giants after impressing for Sporting with an incredible haul of 29 goals and 18 assists in 48 games across all competitions in the 2018/19 season.
And Mourinho concedes he has been caught blindsided by the players' meteoric rise over the past 12 months.
"I was surprised by the season of Bruno Fernandes. It was easy to predict quality, he is a very good player, but scored a very high number of goals for a midfield player," he said, as per Manchester Evening News.
"It shows that you need to have instinct and qualities to score and he has it all. He strikes the ball well, heads well, cool when he is one-on-one with the goalkeeper - he finds space in the penalty area. It’s all there."
The player himself, who's amassed 11 caps for the senior Portugal national team since making his debut in 2017 remained diplomatic when quizzed about a potential move to England during the current off-season.
"I honestly don't know. I like to focus on things once the season is over, when I can think with calmness," Fernandes told Portuguese TV channel SIC.
"The financial aspect always weights a lot, we have a short career. But staying here, I will always be able to raise money, it's not a financial issue.
