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Man Utd fans 'kidding themselves' if they think Bruno Fernandes is new Paul Scholes

Johnny Giles believes Manchester United and their fans are “kidding themselves” if they believe Bruno Fernandes is the new Paul Scholes. Fernandes, 25, joined United in January for £67million from Sporting Lisbon, where he was twice Portugal’s player of the year and was in their side which lifted last summer’s ­inaugural UEFA Nations League crown.

His stock has since ­continued to soar and, in the nine matches the ­midfield star has played for United, he has scored three goals.

But Giles does not accept the comparison with Scholes and it is why he feels United signing Jack Grealish from Aston Villa could work.

Giles says Fernandes is a goalscoring midfielder, such as Chelsea ’s record scorer Frank Lampard, rather than an ­all-round playmaker like the United legend.

“It does bother me when I hear people talking about Fernandes being the next Scholes and the perfect midfield player,” said Giles, 79, who played for United between 1957 and 1963.

“That is not the case. He is ­nowhere near Scholes and never will be. ­People at the club will be kidding themselves if they believe he is going to do what Scholes did. He doesn’t play anywhere near the way Scholes played, even in a ­positional sense.

“Scholes was one of the best midfielders I have seen who could connect the team from back to front. He was the best I have seen at that for a long time, especially when he was playing with Roy Keane, David Beckham, and Ryan Giggs.

“He was the one who knitted it all together, and was one of the great ­midfield players, so I don’t think ­Fernandes is a Scholes.

“Fernandes is a goalscoring midfield player. He should be an asset to the club, but not in the way he is being described at the moment.

“He will be more like a ­Lampard as, every time I see him, he always has a good shot on him and good ability.

“He will be a goalscoring midfield player and there is nothing wrong with that. ­Scoring goals and making goals makes him an asset – but he won’t initiate.”

Academy graduate Scholes excelled in two spells at Old Trafford between ­1994–2013, playing 718 games with 155 goals and 55 Premier League assists. Having retired in 2011, he returned the ­following January.

Giles, an FA Cup winner with United in 1963 ­before moving to Leeds where he gained his own legendary status, believes Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side now need a similar playmaker capable of linking defence

and attack to bring the best out of ­Fernandes.

And that ­potential solution is United’s £70m pursuit of Grealish.

Villa skipper ­Grealish, 24, has ­excelled this season with eight top-flight goals and seven assists, despite the club struggling near the bottom of the Premier League table.

And Giles, who lives in ­Birmingham, added: “Grealish would be more likely to do a Scholes for Manchester United than Fernandes.

“He plays on one side or the other for Villa, but I would like to see him playing in the ­middle.

“His control is good, he goes past people, and uses the ball well. He and Fernandes would be chalk and cheese in the way they play. So, Grealish could be coming from a deep ­position, and ­picking it up from the back four, and Fernandes would need that to pick him out.

Read More Mirror Football's Top Stories “Fernandes is not going to be picking anyone out from the back.

“He needs the ball to get to him, then he can do what he is best at.”

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