Fred has every right to be frustrated by the start to life he has been handed at Manchester United.
Jose Mourinho told ManUtd.com after he signed: “Fred will complement our other midfielders’ qualities, which we need; his creative brain and passing vision will give us another dimension to our game. I am very happy he is joining our club and I believe our players know how important he can be in our team.”
Isn’t it funny how quickly things change?
Fred has been overlooked on the bench by Mourinho a number of times this season. We have not seen him complement the other midfielders, his creative brain or enough passing vision to give United’s game another dimension. Nor have we seen Mourinho happy to have him around.
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It must make you wonder who pushed for the signing of Fred? If Mourinho wanted the Brazilian, how can Ed Woodward or the club trust the manager to make the right defensive signing in January and not decide later it was a mistake, only to drop the player to the bottom of his pecking order?
Fred was part of Tite’s World Cup squad in Russia but was left out for the November internationals against Uruguay and Cameroon.
“I’ve played little in the club and it’s normal for Professor Tite not to be able to evaluate me, even though I’ve worked hard with him,” Fred is quoted as saying by the Manchester Evening News.
“Of course I was annoyed [at being left out of the Brazil squad], but I have to know how to deal with the sadness also, to be able to help me take a step forward. I remain focused on my work and I hope to be back to the selection soon to be able to be in the Copa America.
“The coach (Mourinho) has chosen not to put me in the team, it’s his choice. I still do my job and I can’t let it affect my mindset, I cannot let that shake me. I have to be patient.”
Fred also admits he’s found adapting to life in the Premier League ‘difficult’, but hopefully he can get a run of games together to turn his United career around. It’s mind-boggling that Nemanja Matic can get a start each week despite performing dismally, yet Fred constantly gets overlooked on the bench.
“It’s a bit of a difficult start, I have not been playing so much, I’ve had a lot of games in Shakhtar, but it’s a little bit different here,” he said.
“It’s normal, a process of adaptation to a different league. Although I’ve been to Europe before, now I am in a different country and I have to go through a new process of settling in. Today I see myself much better and I hope that my football will be 100 per cent soon.”
