Brazilian midfielder Fred can still turn his Manchester United career around, according to compatriot and former Red Devil Kleberson.
Fred moved to Old Trafford from Shakhtar Donetsk for a huge £52m fee in June 2018 but has struggled to fulfil that price tag so far, starting just 14 Premier League games since then.
Can Fred turn his United career around? Five things to know…
- Fred was signed for £52m by Jose Mourinho in June 2018.
- Since then, he has played in just 21 of United’s 46 league games.
- He has made 9.1 inaccurate short passes per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season.
- Fred has come under fire from fans and pundits alike for his poor form.
- But fellow Brazilian Kleberson believes he can still turn things around.
The 26-year-old has lost possession 190 times and provided just one goal and one assist during his total 21 Premier League outings, but Kleberson – who himself struggled at Man Utd between 2003 and 2005 – believes Fred simply needs to ‘adapt his game’ to be a success.
“He is a typical South American player. He is used to playing with more possession with more space on the ball but that hasn’t happened so far for him at Man United,” he told US-Bookies.
“I think he has played well tactically, but he needs to be able to create more going forward. As United have not started well, he has had to play differently.
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“It happened to me when I was at United, I had to change my style from a creative player to a more technical player in central midfield.”
Man Utd face arch-rivals Liverpool on Sunday.
Kleberson: Man Utd are still the “biggest club in the world”
Despite their struggles since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013, Kleberson – who is now an academy coach at MLS side Philadelphia Union – still maintains that United are the “biggest club in the world” and insists South American players will still be drawn to Old Trafford.
“South American players will always want to play for Man United, but they need to have won a league and big games before getting the chance to play for the biggest club in the world,” he added.
“If players are playing at a high level in Europe or South America and feature in big competitions, they might get the opportunity to play for United and won’t turn that down.
“I remember that I played in two World Cups and against top teams before I got the chance to sign.”
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