Unpopular opinion: Fred is Manchester United’s most important player

After a torrid two months under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, things seem to be getting back to normal for Manchester United under interim manager Ralf Rangnick. 

Of course, it is just two Premier League games played, both 1-0 wins against Crystal Palace and Norwich City in between a 1-1 draw against Young Boys in their final Champions League group game. There is however a sense that things will improve under Rangnick, thanks to his tactical acumen and the fact he is going about getting familiar backroom staff that will be able to condition players to the way he wants them to play.

One player that has gotten praise since Rangnick took charge is Fred. The Brazilian has been somewhat of a disliked figure since coming to Old Trafford from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2018. He has often been perceived as one of the weakest players in the team, especially under Solskjaer. 

Time and time again, Fred is often found making errors that lead to goalscoring opportunities for the opposition, makes poor passes, marks poorly and is out of position many times. Fred has been blamed as the reason why the United defence has been breached multiple times under Solskjaer and as such he is not a delight to see in the starting XI most times. He is not considered as a proper defensive midfielder and calls have been made for him to be sold.

As much as these things are true about Fred, it only tells a small fraction of what he does on the pitch, with the rest being much better than his flaws. Fred on his day is a key player for Man United. His energy levels and work rate is second to none in the team. Indeed, his constant bursts of energy means he is more often than not, doing what other players on the pitch are not doing. Fred marks very well, tackling, tracking back when need be and gets involved in attacking moves.

He demonstrated this during the 5-1 Premier League opener against Leeds United where he was well positioned to net the fifth goal. He was equally instrumental in Cristiano Ronaldo's later winner against Villarreal in the Champions League where his fine cross on the left found the Portuguese. 

One of Fred's best attributes is his ability to press. One of such scenarios was in the comeback 3-2 Champions League win over Atlanta at Old Trafford. United were down 2-0 at half time but came out in beast mode in the second half to put immense pressure on the Italians. Fred was a catalyst as he did not give Gian Piero Gasperini's men room and space to exploit the Red Devils in their half. His pressing ensured his team was the ones in Atalanta's half and it worked to tremendous effect with Ronaldo netting a brilliant brace.

Fred was the star of the show against Palace, scoring the only goal which was a sublime effort from outside the penalty area with his weaker right foot.

For a manager in Rangnick that emphasises a lot on pressing, Fred will be a valuable asset, the same way he is for his national team. Rangnick highlighted how impressed he was with Fred in the Palace game but did not stop in also highlighting his faults along with regular midfield partner, Scott McTominay. 

"It is highly important that you have players who are very disciplined, who are proactively aggressive against the ball, and both Scotty and Fred are almost perfect defensively on that," the former RB Leipzig boss said.

"They did one or two or three mistakes, especially in the first half there were two square passes...I do not like those kinds of balls in midfield in those positions. But overall, when the other team is in possession of the ball, both Fred and Scotty are almost perfect for that kind of football."

It has to be pointed out that the times when Fred struggles, so does the entire team. The moment they are however able to kick into gear, his best will come out and so will the team. This was seen constantly in the many comebacks under Solskjaer. Fred's faults are therefore more from the collective, rather than individual. Without Fred’s efforts, finishing in the top four in back-to-back seasons since Sir Alex Ferguson might not have been a possibility.

It should not be forgotten that Pep Guardiola was close to bringing him to Manchester City but Jose Mourinho hijacked the deal. If Guardiola who is seen as the standard in football management could want Fred, surely the player is an asset because hardly does Guardiola get it wrong with his acquisitions.

As stated earlier, Fred has obvious flaws, but they do not outweigh the good he brings on the pitch. Fans and pundits just make a scapegoat out of him largely for banter on social media. However it goes over the limit many times and is unfair.

Fred simply needs to be in a thriving environment and he will shine. This was seen in the Brazil team that reached the Copa America final this summer.

With Rangnick keen to change the atmosphere at Old Trafford as quickly as possible with a consistency of good performances and results, one can expect Fred to be a better, vital and standout player.