Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has revealed how his scouting trip to watch Bruno Fernandes convinced him to break the bank for the midfielder.
After a lengthy transfer chase, the Red Devils landed Portuguese playmaker Fernandes for a fee rising to £67.8million from Sporting Lisbon.
He has made an instant impression with goals in their last three games – and Solskjaer is not surprised.
The manager says Fernandes' qualities were apparent the first time he watched the Portugal international in action on a scouting trip.
That convinced him to tell club bosses to make it happen and bring him to Old Trafford as an answer to their midfield problems.
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"When you go and see them live you just get that feeling of the player," he told Sky Sports.
"What impressed me most that day was his personality. We knew about his skills and qualities.
"If you follow him and watch him all the time [you notice] that he cares so much and wants to win, he had that fire in him. I thought, yep, that's the character we need.
"He won't let anyone down. Letting the team down is the same as letting himself down. He wants to win and he knows we [win] together, everyone plays an important part. He's been a positive boost.
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"For me it was easier because I came to a team with better players around me, I just had to do the right things, the same as I used to do but a little bit quicker, doing things and knowing the ball will come.
"I hope it is the same for Bruno – 'I'm comfortable here but I need need to step up my game as well because it is a big club and there are better players'.
"When you see Juan (Mata) and Bruno sometimes in training, you can see there are on the same wavelength."
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He also highlighted Fernandes' "courage" and willingness to take risks as key in his early impact.
"You need courage, you need to be a risk taker at Manchester United. The fans demand it, the club demands it, it is what we've been brought up on with Sir Alex," he added.
"Bruno coming in has boosted the players but for the supporters as well, they can see that we are putting pieces in place.
"I think most of them understand that you can't put six or seven pieces in one go. We've had four decent pieces in the jigsaw."
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