Fred: Strengths, Weaknesses and where he will fit at Manchester United

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Manchester United signed the Brazilian midfielder Fred from Shakhtar Donetsk in a £52m transfer in the summer transfer window of 2018. The Brazilian midfielder will meet with his Manchester United team-mates on the pre-season tour of the US. Let’s take a look at his strengths, weaknesses and how and where he will fit at Manchester United.

Strengths

On the ball, Fred is like a playmaker, he likes to dictate the pace of the game, he rotates the ball well between the back four, the attacking midfielder and the striker. When off the ball, he is a ball-winning midfielder. Fred is excellent at winning the ball back, averaging 5 tackles per game in the Champions League this season.




Fred is very quick in possession and really good at finding the pockets of space in the opposition’s half. The Brazilian is also good at finding the space behind the right back, just like Toni Kroos does at Real Madrid behind Marcelo.

Fred moves constantly, so it makes marking him a difficult job for the opposition. Most importantly, when he skips past his marker, he is very good at finding the forward passes splitting the opposition’s defensive line. 




He is well-versed in playing with both the feet and can take up any position on the field to receive a pass and make an impact. His movement off-the-ball buys him time to make the attacking runs and find the spaces to make a forward pass.

Weaknesses

Fred is a technically-gifted player, but it comes as a surprise that he does not score a lot of goals. He can find pockets of space in the opposition half, but not the ones where he can score a goal from. Even when he gets into a goal-scoring position, he has a weakness of not making the right choice to score a goal. He becomes static when he is in that position and takes time to decide where to place the ball.

He can work on this weakness at Manchester United and start offering returns in this part of the pitch too. This will be an added bonus for Manchester United particularly when teams counter-attacking them against the run of play.

Where will he play?

Jose Mourinho will probably start with a 4-3-3 formation, with Fred being on the right side of the midfield, Matic in the centre and Paul Pogba on the left. Alternatively, Mourinho can go for a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Fred on the right side of the holding midfield. This formation will further free up Paul Pogba. Playing as a CAM, we will be looking at a dangerous Paul Pogba.

At the end of last season, Mourinho played with 3 midfielders. He used Scott McTominay and Ander Herrera as the third player in the midfield. There is no doubt Fred will directly slot into the starting line-up alongside Matic and Pogba, replacing Scott Mctominay or Ander Herrera playing on the right side.




This will limit the first-team opportunities of ‘The Fan-Favourite’, Ander Herrera. He is already way down the pecking order for Jose Mourinho. Scott McTominay could be given chance as a centre-back if United are not able to sign a world-class centre-back in this transfer window. He used to play at the back for United’s U-19s and U-21s. Also, he will play as a back-up for Nemanja Matic.

Players who will benefit

Many pundits say that finally, Paul Pogba will be free to play up front by the arrival of Fred. Pogba will be relieved of most of his defensive responsibilities by the inclusion of Fred in the Manchester United line-up. So, this can be the season for Paul Pogba to reach his true transfer potential at Manchester United, following some encouraging performances at the FIFA World-Cup 2018.

Fred forms a link with the left centre back, just like he did with Rakitsky at Shakhtar Donetsk. He allows the left centre back to step into the midfield, something Victor Lindelof can take an advantage of. Victor Lindelof is a fine ball-player and displayed his ball-playing ability while playing as a centre back for Sweden in the FIFA WC 2018.

Many clubs have approached Manchester United to offer a loan deal for Victor Lindelof. On the other side, Manchester United are looking for a world-class centre back. Whether it be Lindelof or the new signing, that player will benefit by the presence of Fred.

Also, Nemanja Matic can form a formidable partnership with Fred in the middle of the park. They will a partnership of a presser and an interceptor. He will also affect Alexis Sanchez’s and Romelo Lukaku’s returns in terms of goals and assists, which neither of Ander Herrera or Scott McTominay could offer.