There is hype around Alvaro Fernandez and rightly so.
Manchester United will welcome the Spaniard back into camp this summer on the back of a full season in the Championship with Preston North End - for whom he shone from minute one. The Lilywhites were blessed with a fearless youngster, who took the second tier by storm while never looking remotely fazed for a second of it.
Fernandez' touch of top-flight class was clear to see from an early stage; that sense of something beyond Championship level. His ability to take the ball in and then explode forward from a stand-still - leaving confused opponents in his wake - was a key outlet for an otherwise tame Lilywhites outfit all season long.
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And his character is one to be admired too - reserved in the press, confident in his talent and one of the lads. Fernandez made a fine impression on and off the pitch at Deepdale, with the greatest test of all now ahead. The second tier is a competitive cauldron in which there is very little between the vast majority of teams.
Individual brilliance, unlike the Premier League, is not on show week-in-week-out. Grit and fight often get teams over the line. Fernandez operated at left wing-back for Ryan Lowe's side, in a very positional 3-5-2 system. He would try to combine with North End's left centre-back and the closest central midfielder where possible, with those penetrating forward runs - often inside - always on the cards too.
Defensively, mind, there were few occasions where Fernandez was left isolated or overly exposed. There was always support inside, but the United man undoubtedly improved as the season wore on and grew into his defensive responsibility. Fernandez' engine helped him bomb up and down the flank all campaign and while he finished the season with no goals, the 20-year-old carried a constant threat for Preston.
There will now, no doubt, be calls in Manchester for Erik ten Hag to give him his opportunity in the first team. On the basis of Fernandez' first loan spell in England, that is a certain possibility somewhere down the line. Time will tell how soon. The raw tools are all there for Fernandez to thrive in the top flight, but United must manage one of their hottest young prospects sensibly.
With Luke Shaw playing a key role under Ten Hag and Tyrell Malacia set for this second season as a United player, there is no desperate need to hurl Fernandez in. As Pep Guardiola has done down the road, handing gradual minutes out - at the right time - could be the ideal approach with the youngster. Alternatively, another loan spell - in a different environment - could well work. Like any player, Fernandez will want to keep playing and playing.
In pre-season training, the Spaniard will go up against superior attacking talent to anything he faced in PNE colours last season. The Premier League and Championship - in terms of quality - have perhaps never felt so far apart. It will be a whole new world for Fernandez, but this is a lad who will back himself to handle it - even with the likes of Mohamed Salah, Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden waiting.
He passed his first challenge in senior football with flying colours - and it's worth noting that the Championship has the capability to swallow any young players up. Fernandez should be more than content with the journey so far, while staying measured in the knowledge of the higher hurdles still to come.
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