The 21-year-old Spaniard left the club for Benfica in the summer, following loan spells with Preston North End and Granada.
He has been an ever-present across each of the Portuguese giants’ last seven games, including two in the Champions League.
When asked whether there was any regret about letting Fernandez leave, Ten Hag noted we do still have a buy-back option on him, allowing us to assess how he’s advancing when playing at increasingly higher levels.
Read Erik’s quotes on Alvaro from the second part of Friday's press conference below. The manager's views on Sir Alex Ferguson’s influence and legacy, Scott McTominay’s start at Napoli and United’s longer-term strategy were also discussed.