From Zero to Hero: Manchester United’s Fred now a key midfield cog

His first season in the Premier League was a disaster, but Fred’s performances for Manchester United this season have been reflective of a £50m player.

If a club as big as Manchester United signs you for a big fee, boy, you better perform on the pitch when it matters. Brazilian midfielder Fred learned this the hard way after signing for the Red Devils in 2018 from Shakhtar Donetsk for a whopping £53 million. He came in, performed poorly throughout his debut season, and was absolutely berated for it by the fans and the media across the world.

This led to many people giving Fred the loose title of a “flop”, as he did not manage to repay his massive fee whatsoever in his debut year – which led to more inquests about the reckless spending that often goes on at Manchester United.

Those doubters have been proved wrong this year though, as Fred has seemingly done a seemingly impossible 180-degree swivel on his career at Old Trafford. The injury to Paul Pogba early on in the season might have helped him along a little, as did the form of Scott McTominay next to him, but let’s not take too much credit away from Fred.

At just 5’7, Fred is no monster in midfield, but he does his job extremely well. In possession, Fred acts as a fulcrum. Not necessarily a holding midfielder, but hardly an 8 either. He’s somewhere in between, and that role has been excellent for him without a doubt. While he can sometimes struggle off-the-ball, his play in possession has been a breath of fresh air this season for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team.

Fred’s Manchester United career now seems like it’s just beginning, and with McTominay and Fernandes both set to play crucial roles in the long-term, the Brazilian could potentially join them to form a strong midfield over the course of the next few years.

He has some areas of his game to improve without a doubt, but Fred’s form this season prior to the stoppage in play has made that £53 million fee seem smaller and smaller as the weeks go by.