It's the transfer window so understandably there is a clamour to see who Manchester United will sign over the next couple of months. But while everyone is interested in who Erik ten Hag will be bringing in, the Dutchman is set to get to work with many of the pilloried players who turned out for United last season in a few days' time.
If United had a most-improved player award, Fred would've been a strong contender to clinch it. Freed from the McFred pivot, the Brazillian midfielder played much further forward under Ralf Rangnick and thrived; he pressed from the front and consistently dispossessed his opponents before laying it off for his teammates to score.
Though with United being linked with moves for Frenkie de Jong and Christian Eriksen, there doesn't seem to be room for either Fred or Scott McTominay, especially if the expectation is that Bruno Fernandes will also still start. So what does this mean for the 29-year-old midfielder?
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Fred still has a role to play under Ten Hag even with a host of new signings hopefully coming through the door at Old Trafford. He is one of the only members of the squad that currently understands the positional style of play that the Dutchman will try to implement.
Throughout last season, even when he was playing deeper as part of a pivot, you could see it. Whenever his teammates received the ball under pressure he was always in a position to receive a pass, this sometimes got him into trouble as being a get-out jail-free option often led to players like McTominay playing poor passes to him causing him to lose possession.
With much more technical players around him like De Jong and potentially Antony and even a better centre-back like Lisandro Martinez or Pau Torres, this will help him lift his game. Fred will also be able to focus more on positioning himself as well rather than covering up for McTominay.
I wrote in an article previously that McTominay plays in the shadow of his opponents, and a reader sent me an email to clarify what I meant by that. If you watch the midfield long enough you will realise that he consistently marks himself out of the game.
When United's centre-backs are on the ball, McTominay will seemingly shift to preemptively mark a counterattack by standing next to an opposition player. However, what he is actually doing there is removing an option for the defence to pass to and they are forced to play it wide which makes it a lot easier for the opposite team to close them down as they are pinned against the touchline.
This causes Fred to have to work overtime to show for passes. Also out of possession, McTominay steps out a lot leaving massive spaces in behind which gives the Brazillian more area to cover; the likelihood is De Jong would be much better in this regard - Ten Hag will certainly hope so if he gets his man.
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