Bruno Fernandes is an instant hit among his Manchester United team-mates and, so much so, his Portuguese compatriot Diogo Dalot claims “it is like he has been here for two years already”.
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Fernandes completed his transfer from Sporting Lisbon in late January and Dalot drove him to the Aon Training Complex on his first day, as he personally welcomed the no.18 to the United family.
Both players are currently in Spain for the Reds’ intense warm-weather training camp, as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer prepares his squad for a run of instrumental matches across three competitions in the run-in.
The team trained for a second time at the Marbella Football Centre on Monday morning and, following another action-packed session, Dalot spoke exclusively to us about his new team-mate Fernandes, our fight to the finish this season and, first of all, his own improving physical fitness…
Diogo, the second day of our warm-weather training in Spain is complete! How’s it been going for you so far?
“Very good, these are very good facilities, the weather is unbelievable, better than Manchester for sure and we are enjoying it. We are working hard, like we like to do, and that’s it.”
You were one of the players who trained throughout last week, while others were on holiday, so how was that?
“It was good to keep up the fitness. In the first part of the season I was injured so I wanted to use this break to push harder a little bit more. I enjoyed it with some of the players and some of the staff, so it was a very good week to work and now we are here.”
You’ve played really well in recent weeks and scored a great goal against Tranmere Rovers as well, so how are you feeling in yourself and do you feel you can contribute a lot in the run-in?
“Of course, I have been working very hard to get my opportunities, to enjoy them when I get them and to be the best player I can be when I get that opportunity. I am still working, there is still a lot to improve but I will keep pushing hard because I want to play here.”
We saw that you drove your compatriot Bruno Fernandes to the Aon Training Complex on his first day at United and you’ve been helping him to settle in since then. How’s he getting on so far?
“Oh, perfectly. I mean, it is like he has been here for two years already. He is getting on very well with the lads, it is very good to have him here, it is very good for me, very good for the team, he is a fantastic player and a fantastic person, so it is one more to help the team.”
