I am probably one of the only people on the planet right now that actually thinks Fred has a lot to offer if used correctly. Put him in a 3 along side Pogba, McTomminay and he probably does really well.I don't think he is cut out to be either a pure CDM or the creative hub but, somewhere in between. He has the ability to carry the ball, see a pass and also has a lot of energy for the defensive side.
Against Alkmaar, he was the one that seemed to have the ball the most, trying to initiate attacks but, was not coming off but, he was the only one that day that was being proactive and trying. The rest on the pitch were just crap but, he kept at it but, he got stick for losing the ball too much
Then against Newcastle, he got played as the CDM and he did a 180, went from trying to create / initiate to the constant safe pass, for others to create he's got stick now for not being the quintessential QB CDM that is able to dictate play from deep and make penetrative passes that even makes the most stagnant of players seem brilliant.
If Ole ever decides to abandon this 4-2-3-1 formation and actually play to the strength of the players we have rather than stick them into ill suited roles, we might actually get to see a lot more out of Fred and others.