Former Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves says Red Devils star Fred was misunderstood when he arrived at Old Trafford.
The Brazil international signed for United in a £50million deal from Shakhtar Donetsk in the summer of 2018, but he initially struggled to adjust to the rigours of English football.
Fred was in and out of the United team under Jose Mourinho in his first season, making 25 appearances in all competitions with many of those coming from the bench.
The midfielder has vastly improved in his second campaign though, and has shone in the absence of Paul Pogba to become one of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's go-to players in the centre of midfield.
Hargreaves says that Fred still has some way to go to find a level of consistency, but praised his work-rate.
“He’s a complete midfield player but if he can add goals to his game then he’ll be the perfect midfield player," the former England and Bayern Munich man told Premier League Productions .
“In possession he’s very good, out of possession he’s really aggressive and now the players around him are functioning which is a really good sign.
“I think because they paid £50m for Fred and he’s Brazilian that people thought he was a No.10 but he isn’t.
“He’s not a goalscorer and he’s not really creative but what he is is a really good midfield player.
"He’s two-footed and now we’re seeing the player that was at Shakhtar, where in the Champions League he put in some brilliant performances against the best teams.
“He’s energetic without the ball and now with [Nemanja] Matic as a sitter Fred can be box-to-box, before he was too high and sometimes too deep but now this is a midfield three [Matic, Fred, Bruno Fernandes].
"It’s balanced, everyone feels comfortable.”
