All you need to know about the Man Utd target Bruno Fernandez

Bruno Fernandes has become one of Europe's most sought-after midfielders after his incredible season for Sporting Lisbon.

The Portugal star even surprised Jose Mourinho with his meteoric rise to the top, so it is well worth a closer inspection of the 24-year-old.

Here, Sportsmail dives deeper on Fernandes' style of play, why he could be invaluable to Manchester United and how he is such a goal threat.

How did Fernandes forge his way to the top?

Last season was Fernandes' breakout campaign with a record 32 goals from midfield.

But before then, few will have known much about the man from Maia in northern Portugal. He spent his formative years with Boa Vista before signing for Novara in 2012.

And he would go on to hone his craft in Serie A with Udinese, where he played 86 matches before joining Sampdoria for a year in 2016. The surprising thing is, he was never more than an occasional goalscorer, more of a neat and tidy player controlling midfield.

So really, out of nowhere, Fernandes has shot to prominence and is now valued at around £70m.

He capped off last season winning the UEFA Nations League with Portugal and even compatriot Jose Mourinho was staggered by Fernandes' emergence.

'I was surprised by the season of Bruno,' he told Eleven Sports. 'It was easy to predict quality, he is a very good player, but scored a very high number of goals for a midfield player.

'It shows that you need to have instinct and qualities to score and he has it all.

'He strikes the ball well, heads well, cool when he is one-on-one with the goalkeeper. He finds space in the penalty area. It’s all there.'

After gleaning plenty of experience at a high level from a young age, it seemed something just clicked for Fernandes.

What's his style of play?

The 24-year-old isn't a bruiser at 5ft 10 but has the frame to retain possession in the final third and this affords him all the time he needs to play a killer pass or pick the right option.

He is someone the opposition defenders have to constantly monitor as a duel threat, both creatively and as a predator around goal too.

With an average of 3.1 key passes and 3.5 shots per game last season, he was the most consistent weapon in Sporting's team and is always on the lookout for a game-changing intervention, rather than picking a simple pass to move play along.

He has a languid running style, isn't afraid to try a flick or a nutmeg and will hardly ever pass up an opportunity to put his laces through it and test the goalkeeper.

Sporting offered him relative freedom and he'd often pick the ball up from deep to launch attacks as well as linking close to Bas Dost up front.

How is his attacking output so high?

Fernandes has a wand of a right foot and slightly favours that side but also scored a bucket load of goals with his left last season.

Defenders really have to pick their poison in showing him on to either side because he can hurt a team from anywhere and also delivered 13 assists to team-mates last season.

That Frank Lampard-esque ability to time runs into the box give midfielders tracking back an absolute nightmare and his numbers were also boosted by the fact that he took penalties, free-kicks and corners.

As a spectator when you track Fernandes in a game for a while, you can see him drift into dangerous areas with a kind of nonchalance that makes it seem like there isn't any immediate danger, but when he receives the ball he's already plotted the next move and that quick thinking also accounts for such incredible attacking numbers.

What could he offer United?

Paul Pogba was the main goal-scoring threat from midfield last season at Old Trafford but no player scored more than one goal from outside the box.

The threat posed by Fernandes from range could remedy that and free-up more space for other team-mates in and around the area.

Marcus Rashford in particular would relish linking up with the Portuguese as neat little one-twos are very much part of his repertoire.

Fernandes has the sort of guile in midfield that United have been lacking and at times last season they looked bereft of ideas when confronted with a team sitting deep against them. His addition would certainly help pick a few stubborn locks.

Are there any weaknesses?

Like a boxer trying to land that one concussive blow, Fernandes is always looking for the killer play.

This can lead to him biting off a bit more than he can chew at times or taking too many risks.

The rewards were worth it at Sporting but with a higher calibre of opposition in the Premier League, he might not be afforded such tolerance if he is wasteful.