Why Fred’s presence could unleash the beast inside Paul Pogba

Manchester United have signed Brazilian midfielder Fred from Shakhtar Donetsk, for a reported fee of £52m, including add-ons. The 25-year-old has agreed on a five-year deal with the club.

Fred is currently on World Cup duty with Brazil and he will move to Manchester after the showpiece event gets concluded. With another defensive midfielder in the mix, Paul Pogba must break his shackles and work wonders.

The French midfielder has struggled to become a key part of the United set-up since his arrival back from Juventus. The 25-year-old is requires a certain sense of freedom to impact games from the midfield.

In order to extract the best out of Pogba, he must be deployed in an advanced role. To that end, a move for Fred seems logical since he can perform several roles in the midfield.

Let us scout the player with stats and attributes to conclude as to why the Brazilian could propel Pogba to do his best.

Scouting Fred and analysing where he fits in at United

Back in Ukraine, Fred played as a double-pivot in a 4-2-3-1 formation. The midfielder can protect the back four while looking out for killer passes. He also has the ability to press in the midfield.

The 25-year-old’s propensity to pick out long through-balls to spread sumptuous diagonals could be something to relish. With that in mind, Fred could play in two different systems at Old Trafford.

He could either partner Nemanja Matic as a double-pivot in a 4-2-3-1 formation or flank the Serbian along with Pogba in a 4-3-3 system. In both situations, the midfielder will have a similar role to play.

Read More: Why this £18m World Cup star could be an ideal signing for Manchester United this summer

Verdict

Fred’s transfer to Manchester United can improve the whole structure of the team. If the midfield functions better, the team will work better.

The Brazilian’s presence would provide Pogba with a good chance for moving forward. In doing so, Fred would not only help the Frenchman but the entire team. The image below depicts the formation Mourinho might deploy with Fred in the squad.