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BRUNO FERNANDES praised his “main” midfielder partner Paul Pogba, but believes there is much more to come from the French star.
The £ 89 million Manchester United ace looked more like his old self in a 2-1 win over Aston Villa on New Years Day.
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Fernandes has made the most headlines for his performances since arriving at Old Trafford a year ago this month.
But he feels Pogba has a huge role to play as United chase glory on four fronts.
The former Juventus player took part in the Red Devils’ first game against Villa, then also won the penalty that Fernandes scored to secure the points.
The Portuguese international said: “I think Paul was up on Friday night. We know all the qualities it has. That is not in doubt.
“We know he can play, we know he can help us and he was involved in both goals. For the former, he shows very good skill.
“He will give more and more with the confidence that comes game after game.”
Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was also delighted with the display that put up the club’s record signing.
When Scott McTominay, Fred and Fernandes shone in Leeds’ 6-2 win, Pogba watched from the bench.
And with his agent Mino Raiola seemingly keen to move on, there were even more doubts about the World Cup winner’s future at the club.
But Solskjaer felt that the 27-year-old showed what he can give the team against Villa.
He added: “Paul is getting fitter and stronger and then you get performances like this.
“It took 25 minutes to get going, but when it got going, it made a difference for us.
“I think it’s important that we get Paul on the ball, whether it’s downfield or a little higher between the lines.
“I think it made the difference higher up. I know he started out defending. But we wanted him to run behind them, to get on the ball.
“Their physical presence is important to us because we knew that Aston Villa are one of the strongest teams in the Premier League.
“We needed to match them. And he won a lot of headers, he was delighted with his performance. “
Fernandes was impressed by the way his teammates came together to ensure they were level on points with Liverpool.
Villa staged a comeback that could easily have brought a draw, if not for one last block from Eric Bailly in death.
Fernandes, former Sporting Lisbon captain, said: “On Friday night it was Eric who made the entry.
“But I saw him in the stands in the last minutes, everyone screaming and watching the ball.”
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