Jonathan Walters says he would have loved to have played in front of an attacking midfielder like Bruno Fernandes during his playing days.
The former Republic of Ireland international was alongside Kenny Cunningham, Ger Gilroy and Dave McIntyre on OTB AM this morning, in the wake of Manchester United's 3-0 win over Sheffield United yesterday.
The win moved United just two points behind Chelsea in fourth in the Premier League standings, although Chelsea have their game in hand tonight against Manchester City.
Portuguese star Fernandes has impressed greatly since joining the Old Trafford outfit from Sporting Lisbon, and Walters said he's a player that could help United contend for the big trophies again in the coming years.
"It doesn't surpirse me, no. For me, he's a world-class player. That's why he's gone to a club as big as Manchester United. There's nothing better... when I was playing, I was a player that always tried to play behind, very rarely would I try to play to feet.
"My first look would always be in behind, and if someone can land on the ball and always look to put you in, there's nothing better [than] always looking positive going forward.
"I used to love coaches going in and saying 'Your first look has always got to be forward, it's always got to be positive.' I used to hate players that would get it off the defence and always go back and keep it slow.
"If you can go forward, go forward. And he [Fernandes] looks like he's a player that does that. It's simple, go forward and join in. If you can't go forward, go sideways and if you can't go sideways go back. It's very simple if you think of it like that but it's hard to do for some players.
"It's a safe option to just play it back... but he [Fernandes] looks like he's just slotted in. It seems to be the perfect player that they needed to bring the lot of it together.
"If you've got [Anthony] Martial and [Marcus] Rashford in front, pace like that and players that are always trying to get behind, you've got a great combination.
Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes, left, makes a shot as Sheffield United's Jack Robinson tries to stop him during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Sheffield United at Old Trafford in Manchester, England, Wednesday, June 24, 2020. (Martin Rickett/Pool via AP)"You're looking at great attacking forces and back to the United of old that we used to see. The attacking [teams] back in the early 2000s when they were winning everything, they were constantly attacking, it was always goals from them and you had people driving the midfield.
"Hopefully they can get that back because they've always been one of the biggest teams in the world, it would be great to have them back contending for the Premier League again with Liverpool and [Manchester] City.
"The more teams you can get going for the league like that and improving then great. Solskjaer said he's not there yet, there's money there to be spent on certain players, the right players.
"He seems to have complete control over the right players he wants at the club now. They might be a contender in times to come and they're showing all the signs of going the right way."
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