McTominay and Fred, do we need both?

[Flying high]

The reaction to Fred is a strange one. I thought he'd completely transformed his career here. Had some brilliant matches prior to lockdown and we could see how useful he'd be to us - especially as a squad player, no less in one struggling with depth. Then comes the return, has two bad matches(maybe even halves) and people completely forget how good he was at times last year. Not only do they forget his performances, they also forget the injuries and performances of his colleagues that led to him getting such a prolonged opportunity to redeem himself.

I'm not at all against keeping Fred. He has proven himself worthwhile.

However, it really appears that he's most useful when playing every game. He seems to struggle coming in for a game or two, which is a concern if he's to be a back up. If Fred leaving means a more suitable CM coming in then I wouldn't object.

 

[RedorDead21]

I'm not at all against keeping Fred. He has proven himself worthwhile.

However, it really appears that he's most useful when playing every game. He seems to struggle coming in for a game or two, which is a concern if he's to be a back up. If Fred leaving means a more suitable CM coming in then I wouldn't object.

You mean someone like Thiago....

 

[Santoryo]

Fred is much more useful against the bottom half than mctominay. Surely he and matic are both cover for themselves. Madness that the club will even consider selling Fred given we have no other competent deep lying playmaker other than matic?

the way I see it van de beer is cover for pogba and Bruno. He can play CAM and CM. He will take mctominays minutes more than Free who plays deeper for us.

Exactly. I've already predicted that Fred will play as much time as Matic if not more. After watching how ole approached the Sevilla game, a game in which Fred was good I can see Ole deploying him a lot more in that role, especially since he want to implement a pressing, high energy game. I feel like as the season goes Fred will get more minutes than Matic in that deeper role. Ole likes his pressing and energy which gives us the license and confidence to press high up the pitch.

Ole clearly tried to have McTominay in that deeper role since I'm sure he doesn't see Matic playing every single games, not to mention if he wants a pressing game, he'd need one of McTominay or Fred energy in midfield. Ole initially favored Scott but the latter just didn't have it in that role whereas Fred managed to show in our last 2 appearances that he can play there at a competent level and give us energy in midfield.

Fred is basically Matic's sole backup/competition for that deep lying role and he'll see plenty of time given out of Matic, Pogba and Bruno the former is the one who will be prone to more resting and rotating. McTominay on the other hand is looking at Pogba, Bruno and VDB ahead of him which will be tough.

I'm not at all against keeping Fred. He has proven himself worthwhile.

However, it really appears that he's most useful when playing every game. He seems to struggle coming in for a game or two, which is a concern if he's to be a back up. If Fred leaving means a more suitable CM coming in then I wouldn't object.

Then how do you explain his performance against Sevilla? Fred is practically our only option other than Matic in that deeper midfield role.

 

[Champagne Football]

The truth is Ole would snap someones hand off if they offered 30 million for Fred, but at the same time he will get plenty of games next season with the extra Champions League games taking it's toll. Having Pogba, Bruno and Matic play in a big game on a Saturday, then McT, Fred and Van de Beek play the Tuesday night Champions League game if we are playing a smaller club, is not a bad option for Ole.

 

[romufc]

The truth is Ole would snap someones hand off if they offered 30 million for Fred, but at the same time he will get plenty of games next season with the extra Champions League games taking it's toll. Having Pogba, Bruno and Matic play in a big game on a Saturday, then McT, Fred and Van de Beek play the Tuesday night Champions League game if we are playing a smaller club, is not a bad option for Ole.

Don't be surprised if we play VDB in a big game and sacrifice Pogba or Bruno and play them in the CL game.

Our best 11 is good enough to beat most teams but playing against City, Liverpool or away game to Chelsea or Arsenal we probably need battling midfielders.

 

[K_Ash]

That Fred-Paul-Bruno looked very promising for QF and SF of European competition. We should have rolled over the future EuroLeague winner 5-2 with that trio.

I really want to see more of that trio next season.
Fred is a great fit for that 4-1-2-1-2 lineup with DVB (and Baby Greenwood as super sub)

 

[Schmeichel's Cartwheel]

If we sell one, it would be Fred, despite him clearly being the better player.

 

[USREDEVIL]

If we sell one, it would be Fred, despite him clearly being the better player.

Yeah i kind of agree. He'll get us some actual fees. He's sometimes pretty good but not good enough to worry about keeping. McT i think has a chance of being a better box to box (maybe even a cdm) due to his physicality and quickness. Just not sure his passing is up to snuff day in and day out.

 

[AltiUn]

If we sell one, it would be Fred, despite him clearly being the better player.

Yeah. I quite like McTominay and Fred but we'd be a bit bonkers to let Fred go first. He's definitely got a role to play here next season, I mentioned it at the time but his energy in midfield against Sevilla was so important to avoid their press, there's a lot of teams in the PL that like to play that sort of style. With Matic likely to run out of steam if we overplay him we'd be smart to keep Fred around.

 

[Mickeza]

I think Fred will start the season as first choice number 6. If he steps up like I think he can then we won’t need a DM next summer. If he doesn’t then he’ll be sold next year. Very much doubt he’s leaving this summer, and certainly not on loan.

 

[Rojofiam]

I think Fred would make a brilliant left back but it's never gonna happen

 

[bosnian_red]

I think at the end of next summer/before 21/22, our midfield group is:

• Bruno
• Van de Beek
• New holding mid
• Fred
• Mctominay
• Garner/Mejbri

Can see Pogba leaving on cheaper price with 1 year left instead of us keeping him til his contract expires, Van de Beek just stepping in as the box to box replacement, and us signing a holding mid to replace Matic, but it being a creative/deep lying playmaker like Thiago (except not him as he's likely going to Liverpool) as Van de Beek would probably compliment that better than Pogba. Garner and Mejbri stepping up into some sort of role to be further depth. So yeah Fred and McTominay are both good as depth for 2 of the spots, I'd keep them.

 

[jem]

I think at the end of next summer/before 21/22, our midfield group is:

• Bruno
• Van de Beek
• New holding mid
• Fred
• Mctominay
• Garner/Mejbri

Can see Pogba leaving on cheaper price with 1 year left instead of us keeping him til his contract expires, Van de Beek just stepping in as the box to box replacement, and us signing a holding mid to replace Matic, but it being a creative/deep lying playmaker like Thiago (except not him as he's likely going to Liverpool) as Van de Beek would probably compliment that better than Pogba. Garner and Mejbri stepping up into some sort of role to be further depth. So yeah Fred and McTominay are both good as depth for 2 of the spots, I'd keep them.

I thought Pogba was in the process of renewing his contract?

 

[Roane]

I've seen/heard many people say that we need to get rid of Mac and Fred but I'm not convinced we should.

It's going to be a long and strange season, with the way things have worked due to Covid.

My feeling is we will keep them for next season at least and they will have a role to play just to stop fatigue settling in.

For the first time in a long time we seem to be addressing our MF and getting rid of either won't help imo.

Obviously if we continue signing players and say we get Thiago then we may see some movement but at the moment the way I see it is that we have a potentially class MF with able deputies.

My own view on certain players has never been we don't need them more that they are/should not be possible starting 11 week in week out. But used as subs for the starting 11 for rest etc then you need certain players who are happy enough to be on the bench and play a bit part role.

 

[FootyGirl88]

I thought Pogba was in the process of renewing his contract?

He is, but some fans wanna get rid for some reason.

 

[Santoryo]

I'm not at all against keeping Fred. He has proven himself worthwhile.

However, it really appears that he's most useful when playing every game. He seems to struggle coming in for a game or two, which is a concern if he's to be a back up. If Fred leaving means a more suitable CM coming in then I wouldn't object.

Then how do you explain his performance against Sevilla?

I think Fred will start the season as first choice number 6. If he steps up like I think he can then we won’t need a DM next summer. If he doesn’t then he’ll be sold next year. Very much doubt he’s leaving this summer, and certainly not on loan.

I also believe the same. I see Fred starting as our first choice in midfield with Pogba and Bruno, and if he delivers it'll be hard to displace him.

It's pretty clear to me Ole intends to start playing a high press game and has seen that Fred can play as the deepest midfield with his energy and high work rare.

 

[MrSingh2002]

We should keep them all for the next season. Assess it next year and one can go if Pogba signs a contract extension.

Focus on getting Pereira out for now. Nothing against him but he's just our weakest midfielder.

 

[Champagne Football]

Don't be surprised if we play VDB in a big game and sacrifice Pogba or Bruno and play them in the CL game.

Our best 11 is good enough to beat most teams but playing against City, Liverpool or away game to Chelsea or Arsenal we probably need battling midfielders.

I think that will happen yes. I think he will be on a par with them as to who gets picked

 

[Mickeza]

I also believe the same. I see Fred starting as our first choice in midfield with Pogba and Bruno, and if he delivers it'll be hard to displace him.

It's pretty clear to me Ole intends to start playing a high press game and has seen that Fred can play as the deepest midfield with his energy and high work rare.

It also explains why we want a pacy CB next to Maguire so we can play a higher line when Fred is pressing. Currently when he plays there he wins a lot of balls high up but he’s very high risk and does get bypassed. There’s a big gap when he gets beaten so the higher line will help with that.

Whether we get the players we’re after or not at least it’s good to know there’s actually a strategy to who we’re going after for a change. Every player we’re linked with actually makes sense and would add a lot to our squad. Definitely now on the right track after 7 years of mismanagement.

 

[Marcelinho87]

If they're happy to be squad players then absolutely but if I had to pick one? I'd be keeping Fred personally.

 

[LoneStar]

Selling MaPeriera and Lingard would be best. I think DVb can cover for both Pogba and Bruno, while Fred and McT would primarily cover for Matic (but can bring mcT as an additional midfielder if we need to later in the game).

And I think Fred especially has versatility in his game to cover further forward if needed too.

Lingard and Periera should hopefully fetch a decent sum as well.

 

[Kearnkoff69]

Both are solid squad players and Fred has shown flashes of consistent first team quality. So long as we don't add anymore midfielders past VdB, I am more than happy to have them both in the team.

 

[peridigm]

We should keep both unless we end up signing Thiago which I think is BS links. Shifting Perreira and Lingard this summer would be better. Neither will see any significant amount of playing time with our current options. Whereas Fred and McTominay would both play a deeper MF role sharing minutes with Matic. If Ole sees DVB playing a more advanced attacking role then even if we have injuries to Pogba or Matic, we're still going to need Fred and McTominay for cover.

I think we'll see possibly 2 of Perreira, Lingard, and Mata leave this window but not all 3.

 

[gza the genius]

You mean someone like Thiago....

As things stand Fred needs to stay and will get plenty of opportunities. Matic can't and shouldn't play every game, I'd say use Matic as sparingly as possible meaning Fred will be playing more often than not. But if selling Fred meant we could bring in Thiago I'd be all for it. I like Fred a lot but Thiago is different class.

 

[KW2006]

IMO 4 players for 2 positions is enough. And we have Garner as the 5th person(though he may go out on loan).

On a side note, I am not against sending McT on loan to a premiership club for a season, and keep Garner.

 

[DannyDee]

We should keep both. 6 guys for the combined 3 cm/10 spot should work, with maybe young guys getting a shot vs weak teams in Cups. Focus on moving on Pereira, Mata, and Lingard. Only reason we should move on from Fred and McTominay is if we find a younger player who perfectly slots into the Matic role. Since that doesn't seem to be something we have budgeted for this summer, we go with Bruno, Pogba, VdB, Fred, McTominay, and Matic for those 3 roles. Its unlikely we play many games without starting 3 of those 6 at least when it comes to League and CL.

Priorities at this point should be RW and CB as at the very least we need a 4th guy who can rotate with our front 3, and CB bench option. Preferably those would both be starters (Sancho and Upamenco), but even if we can't land top targets, we need rotational options not named Lingard and Mata. LB, striker (once Ighalo goes), and CDM, could use depth added, but that is of a lesser priority so those will be focused on next summer if we don't see improvement or youth emerge. Or possibly in January if the teams are able to project their financial futures with great certainty.

 

[bosnian_red]

I thought Pogba was in the process of renewing his contract?

I doubt he will and think VdB will just take his place next summer alongside Bruno tbh.

 

[Scholsey2004]

Yeah, we need both definitely, unless as others have said, we got Thiago since Thiago's basically a better version of Fred. You could argue there's an overlap in skill sets with McTominay and van de Beek in the box-to-box role but DvdB will be playing a lot of games at CAM anyway.

 

[el3mel]

I think Scott's playtime will be reduced a lot next season with VDB arrival. Fred, Matic and VDB will be all ahead of him in picking order regardless of Pogba and Bruno. He'll still be a useful squad player but he will definitely not play as much as he did in the first half of this season. His playtime was already getting reduced after the restart.

 

[sammsky1]

In the high likelihood that Thiago isn’t coming to us, and assuming we get to later rounds of the 3 cups we are in, a game every 3 or 4 days for 9 months: both will get plenty of game time.

It’s also then upto themselves to improve and force themselves into selection. I think back to Sheringham displacing York in 2000/1 or Solskjær displacing Beckham in 2003/4. Many more examples.

I think it’s fantastic to have genuine depth in midfield - they all have at least 2 more years on contract, let them nuke it out amongst themselves.

 

[Bondi77]

I think Fred would be a top player if he could kick a ball properly and then He could progress to shooting at the goal.

 

[Bebe]

I'd like to keep both and play a midfield diamond next season, these two would be perfect off the bench in that set up.

 

[jackal&hyde]

We have Matic, McTom, Fred, Pogba, Bruno and VDB, 6 players for 3 positions. MCTom will be an understudy for Matic plus getting games in the box to box role, Fred is Pogbas cover and i suspect in some games will play at the base of the midfield and VDB can play AM and CM. It's a very balanced midfield imo.

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

Of course we need both. Unless we are getting a guaranteed upgrade on either this is a question that shouldn't be asked. They give us proper depth along with Van de beek

 

[Bondi77]

IMO 4 players for 2 positions is enough. And we have Garner as the 5th person(though he may go out on loan).

On a side note, I am not against sending McT on loan to a premiership club for a season, and keep Garner.

What would be the point of sending Scott on loan and keeping Garner at the club?

 

[TMDaines]

Not really surprised at the increasing noise around Fred leaving and suggested a few months ago that United may look to cash in on him now whilst he has value. He was deemed to have had a good season last season, but his level of performances that lead to that view should be reflected on.

Clearly as a ball-winning midfielder, he has something, but ultimately he’s a non-holding midfielder whose performance with the ball is incredibly problematic when you are favoured in most matches. No creativity in terms of creating opportunities, utterly dire shooting from range and the decision making of an adolescent around the box.

Fred clearly has his supporters on here, but he is truly bottom of the barrel when it comes to being a midfielder on the ball in a team that aspires to be elite. You can get away with that as a water carrier anchor man, but not when you are unable to even function as the single holding mid. To accommodate Fred, we have to play Pogba alongside him in a double pivot. This just makes the team even weaker.

 

[limerickcitykid]

Sell whichever fetches the highest fee, sign a midfielder who actually fits the roles of the system we play. Sorted.

 

[Paul_Scholes18]

It would be stupid to sell them. That is why it may happens. Our club is run by Clowns who mainly wants to make money rather than building a title winning team.

 

[Ikon]

I'd have Lingard, Pereira, and Mata ahead of them on the bus out.
Having said that, I'm not a big fan of Fred or Matic, and if an exceptional DM were available, I wouldn't be sentimental.

 

[Snuffkin]

I imagine fred will be happy to leave. Pogba took his place and didn't perform.