settembrini
Full Member
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2015
- Messages
- 3,283
The guy's defensive awareness and positioning is atrocious. His defensive game is solely based on mindlessly running around as fast as he can. He isn't a defensive midfielder nor has he ever been one.
He was the heir to Fernandinho in the same way Gaitan and Sneijder are our new number 10s.
You are talking nonsense. Watch the first half of this video:
His normal position for Shaktar was as one of a defensive pair. His role was to sit deep in midfield with a focus on ball winning and quickly distribution to their forward players.
https://www.whoscored.com/Players/114397/Show/Fred
Then look at his statistical contributions in games. He is objectively good at winning the ball via tackles and interceptions. His strongest metric is literally 'defensive contributions'.
Thirdly we know Guardiola tried to buy him for City. Sam Lee is tier 1 reliability for City transfers and he reported their interest several times.
https://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/man...moves-fred-laporte/1rt32tv12rlg31he6naorql00g
"The 24-year-old would be cup-tied for the Champions League, although that is not a problem for City, who see him as the long-term replacement for Fernandinho and somebody who could also play left-back if required."
This was confirmed months later by the Shaktar president who has gone on record that City bid 50m Euro in January but they didn't want to sell mid-season.
Fred is a defensive player and City wanted him for that role. The fact that Mourinho doesn't understand how to use him and that United have allowed a manager to spent £50m on a player he doesn't know how to use should come as no surprise to anyone. It's a textbook example of United's ineptitude in the transfer market post Ferguson.