Fred has emerged as one of Manchester United’s most consistent high performers this pre-season.
The midfielder has shown grit, cleverness and even a bit of flair during this summer’s three friendly wins. Erik ten Hag is still eager to bring in a midfielder but the Brazilian is so far making a very good case why he should be the new arrival’s central partner.
He made his point again in the 3-1 win over Crystal Palace in Melbourne on Tuesday, threading some neat passes and linking the play nicely. His most explosive moment, though, came on 56 minutes and it didn’t involve a ball.
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Jordan Ayew, who had left his foot in on multiple occasions during the match, chopped down Bruno Fernandes in midfield which prompted a furious reaction from Fred. The playmaker stormed up to the Palace attacker, getting in his face to tell him exactly what he thought of his behaviour before the pair were separated.
The incident was over within 30 seconds but it gave a great glimpse into the team camaraderie in camp under Ten Hag. It was evident that team cohesion was absent last season.
Many called for this to be amended as an utmost priority, with some branding it as Ten Hag’s biggest challenge. But it seems that squad togetherness is being restored by the new boss, amid the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo at least anyway.
The Fred of last season would not have reacted in such a defensive way. To see such a quick turnaround in pre-season shows Ten Hag is doing something right.
Of course, United are yet to taste defeat this summer and when a loss does arise, it will test the new-found character of the squad. However, even when they went behind in the 4-1 win against Melbourne Victory, there were no flailing arms or pointed fingers as frequently seen last term.
Yes, it is ‘only’ pre-season but Fred’s reaction to Ayew shows that the squad are taking it seriously. Ten Hag built a great rapport between his playing staff at Ajax and we could be seeing the first fruits of that at United already.
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