Fernandes has been a transformative signing for Manchester United since he joined the club in January last year and is the club’s leading goal scorer and creator this season.
But the Portuguese had a stint in Italy at the start of his career where he had three underwhelming spells at Novara, Udinese and Sampdoria.
He spent three years at Udinese without pulling up trees and was eventually sold to Sampdoria from where he moved back to Portugal in 2017.
Carnevale, who scouted Fernandes for Udinese, conceded that moving him on could have been a mistake in hindsight.
But the chief scout admitted that the coaching staff were keen to have some experience and Fernandes was still a young player learning his trade in Italy.
The Italian told The Athletic: “We let him go to Samp and he took off at Sporting.
“United paid €70 million for him.
“I don’t know if it’s our mistake but at times coaches want a player who is ready there and then.
“It often depends on where you are in the table.”
Fernandes has netted 26 goals and provided 17 assists for his Manchester United team-mates this season in all competitions.
