How important Eric Cantona was towards helping Manchester United establish a lengthy dominance of English football will be debated for many years but there’s no doubt he made a good United side a great one.
The flamboyant Frenchman’s impact was immediate as the Red Devils won the first Premier League title less than six months after he joined in November 1992.
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He won three more league titles and two FA Cups in his remaining four years at the club but his legacy stood the test of time.
Paul Scholes, David Beckham and Gary Neville have revealed how Cantona’s strong work-ethic impacted their careers and thus the culture of Manchester United Football Club, who boast 20 league titles (13 in the Premier League era), twelve FA Cups, five League Cups and have been European champions three times.
Things have gone a bit quiet at Old Trafford in recent years – they last lifted a trophy in 2017 – but many believe Bruno Fernandes – signed just over one year ago – is the Cantona-like figure who can get Man United back to the top.
Portugal international Fernandes wholeheartedly rejects the comparisons which is no surprise given his limited time at the club and, to date, has no trophies to show for his efforts.
He’s even surprised his former youth coaches from his days at Italian side Novara, who signed him from Portuguese club Boavista in 2012.
Novara’s former youth team chief Mauro Borghetti admits Fernandes immediately stood out, with a transfer to Udinese following just a year later, but says he’s surprised with how far he’s come.
“He has always raised the level in his career. Sincerely, what Bruno Fernandes has become today is a bit of a surprise to me,” Borghetti told Football Italia.
“We understood that he was not a common footballer but here we are talking about one who plays in one of the most famous clubs in the world with results out of any kind of logic. He had the potential to do it, but to see what he’s become today is a bit of a surprise.”
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But let’s not forget Cantona was never appreciated when playing in France so maybe Borghetti and Fernandes are being a bit harsh. The attacking midfielder, 26, boasts brilliant stats having scored 28 goals and provided 18 assists in 53 appearances for the Red Devils.
He’s a player who can do a little bit of everything and his WhoScored rating shows he’s strong at taking free-kicks, long shots and taking set pieces, as Liverpool found out in the FA Cup last month. He’s deemed very strong when it comes to through balls, key passes, finishing and even his defensive contribution.
However, it’s the impact on his teammates and the players around him which have really stood out and is perhaps the reason why the Cantona comparisons continue to persist.
A strong end to last season saw Man United finish third in the league, while also reaching the semi-finals of both the Europa League and FA Cup. Minus a Champions League group stage exit, they’re doing well this season too as they find themselves in the title race.
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But most importantly, Man United are an entertaining side again like they were in the glory days. As The Athletic’s Richard Amofa puts it to talkSPORT.com, Man United were struggling to get the ‘slow and insipid’ football from the Jose Mourinho era out of their system before Fernandes arrived.
“We had flashes of individual brilliance but what Bruno’s done is bring them on a more consistent basis,” Amofa said. “That’s upped everyone else’s game like Marcus Rashford, Paul Pogba and even Anthony Martial.
“Our forward line has benefited the most. While we were keeping the ball and not conceding as much, we weren’t creating that many chances [before Fernandes signed].
“What you get with Bruno is someone direct and forward. As soon as he gets on the ball his first thought is ‘how can I create? How can I make something happen?’
“Sometimes he frustrates when giving the ball away but that’s what his type of players do. High risk, high reward.
“If you look at the way United want to play, fast, high tempo – Bruno is fantastic at that. That’s how the successful Manchester United sides over the years played.”
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Cantona had that gift of making players around him play better but the United Stand’s Mark Goldbridge doesn’t just see Cantona in Fernandes’ game.
“He gets linked to Cantona but I see a Roy Keane in him, a Gary Neville, a David Beckham, a Paul Scholes and a Cristiano Ronaldo in him,” Goldbridge tells talkSPORT.com.
Fernandes certainly triggered memories of a brilliant counter-attack goal Ronaldo scored in a Champions League tie at Arsenal when he volleyed home against Brighton last term.
But the end of the campaign saw him produce behaviour you’d tend to associate with Keane as Fernandes clashed with Victor Lindelof during their Europa League defeat to Sevilla.
“My favourite attribute is his leadership, his tenacity, his desire to win,” Goldbridge adds.
“As a player, Fernandes has a multitude of talents, he can score tap-ins, headers, free-kicks. He can create with 40-yard passes, five-yard passes.
“The thing that binds all that is this elite mentality that not all players have to be the best at what he is and the team around him.”
And perhaps that’s the key behind why Fernandes is has endeared himself to the United faithful so much so that he’s already being tipped for legendary status by those who don’t already see him that way.
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He embodies all the football qualities and values Cantona and other legends who made and sustained United’s place as the best team in the land over two decades.
But unlike his hugely successful predecessors, the Fernandes story at Man United isn’t over yet.
He’s already won four Premier League Player of the Month awards but Goldbridge believes Fernandes can aim much higher.
“If Manchester United had to sell him in the next two summers I’d be amazed if there wasn’t a queue of clubs in the world going for him,” Goldbridge says.
“I think he’s at a level where a Barcelona, a Manchester City, a Juventus would take him and he’d start for them.
“I think he could be a Ballon d’Or winner. He’s going to be a top player for the next five or six years.”
Bruno Fernandes stats since joining Man United
Games: 53
Goals: 28
Assists: 18
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