Subscribe
Follow Us
When Manchester United signed Fred in 2018, he was considered one of the highly-rated midfielders in Europe. The Brazilian had impressed everybody during his time at Shakhtar Donetsk and was also initially linked with a Manchester City move.
However, the managerial changes, compounded with squad adjustments, led to Fred being in and out of the side. Although the Brazilian hasn’t been worth the £61.2m fee that Manchester United paid for him, he has started to have a role under Erik ten Hag.
After the Premier League campaign ended, the Brazil international got linked with a move to Marco Silva’s Fulham this summer. The left-footed midfielder was seen with the Fulham manager after the final Premier League game of the season.
As he has completed five years at Manchester United, ten Hag has a decision to make this summer. Although Fred doesn’t excel in the Dutch manager's requirements as a defensive midfielder, he has played as a bench player to Christian Eriksen.
His best attribute is to win the ball high in the opposition’s defensive zone and pop up in the right areas at the right time. One of the examples came against FC Barcelona in the UEFA Europa League, where he found the pocket of space before slotting in the United equalizer.
In the 2022/23 season, Fred scored two goals and provided two assists for Manchester United. However, he only played 1,235 hours compared to 2,397 hours last season. At the age of 30, United would be looking to offload him and find an upgrade. However, there are chances that there won’t be any profile buyers for the Brazilian midfielder. If United don’t find the right evaluation for him, they should try to stick with him and keep him as a squad player for next season.
