Gary Neville believes Bruno Fernandes won’t suffer a second-season dip in form at Manchester United.

United spent €55 million (£49m/$66m) to bring Fernandes to Old Trafford from Sporting CP on January 30.

He quickly set about repaying the club’s initial investment, as the Red Devils embarked on an impressive unbeaten run before the coronavirus pandemic stopped play in March.

That 19-game streak was eventually ended by Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-finals post-lockdown, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side still managed to secure a third-place finish in the Premier League.

Fernandes was widely praised for turning United’s fortunes around after a slow start to the season, with his contribution of 12 goals and eight assists proving crucial during a congested period of fixtures.

Although the 25-year-old started to run out of gas towards the end of the campaign, Neville expects the Portugal international to be a talismanic figure once again in 2020-21.

‘Bruno Fernandes was shattered by the end of the season,’ the former Red Devils defender told Sky Sports.

‘In the last few games he looked absolutely spent, but the expectation, what he’d done since he’d come in, he played in every single game, even the game at Norwich in the FA Cup, which was just bizarre at the time. I think Ole had a thing with him where he thought he’d just keep him going.

‘He was on a roll, he’s fit, he can run, he’s so energetic and when he’s in the team we win.

‘But there definitely was that dip towards the end where he looked like he needed that rest. Hopefully, he’s had that rest now and he’s ready to go again.

‘His attitude doesn’t tell me, and when you watch him, his performances don’t tell me that there’s going to be a dip because he just looks like he’s got that belief in himself and the courage to take the ball and even if he has a difficult start to the season he’ll not lose that belief to get on the ball and go and find space, try and play the pass that is difficult and try and play the ball forward.

‘That’s the big thing for me, he always looks for a pass forward to try and unlock a team. He’s enabled the front three to become a lot better.’

United will open their 2020-21 campaign with a home fixture against Crystal Palace on September 19, which will be followed by a trip to Brighton seven days later.