Rooney compares Bruno Fernandes to De Bruyne in one key factor

Wayne Rooney says why Bruno Fernandes is "invaluable" to Manchester United as he compared him to Kevin de Bruyne.

Fernandes has been a figurehead for United in recent seasons with passing through the middle of the pitch and goals. And he also showed his loyalty last summer by staying rather than accepting a multi-million pound move to Saudi Arabia.

Rooney has now pointed to Fernandes' football intelligence which he considers to be at a very "high level".

He said: "I think when you play at the top level the big difference is your football IQ on the pitch and I think that Bruno is at such a high level.

"When you see some of his first time passes for instance, he's constantly scanning the pitch, he knows where the space is, where his teammates are and he has the ability to make a first time pass, take a touch, play people in.

"I think that's the big difference, technically he's very good as well and he can play in different positions."

And Rooney says that in some ways Fernandes is similar to how he was as a footballer.

"He is a similar type of player to what I was like in terms of when I played deeper, obviously I played a bit more forward as well and I don't think he does that," said Rooney.

"But I think a number 10 is his perfect position because he can link play, bring players into play, hold the ball.

"He changes the tempo of the game when he needs to so he is such an invaluable player for United to have that I think it is important that they keep him in the summer."

And he compared Fernandes to De Bruyne in their willingness to take risks.

He continued: "You want players to take risks. If you look at the two players in the Premier League over the past six years who have had the most assists, created the most chances then they are probably Bruno and Kevin de Bruyne and they probably give the ball away more than other players on their team because they take risks.

"But then you get rewards for that, Ryan Giggs was very similar, he used to do it, they give the ball away quite a bit but they create that one magic moment which helps you to win the game."