Roy Keane identified Fred and McTominay as the two players key to releasing Manchester United's more expressive midfielders.
How Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sets up in midfield has been one of the biggest talking points in the first half of United's season, with Bruno Fernandes' superb form keeping Paul Pogba out of the team in a lot of games.
Speaking on Sky Sports prior to Wednesday's derby, United legend Keane heaped praise on Fernandes and said that McTominay and Fred have been key to allowing the Portuguese star the freedom to be so influential going forward.
"He’s been an amazing signing for the club," Keane said. "We’ve been critical of Manchester United’s signings over the last few years, but this guy is the real deal.
"He’s hit the ground running, he’s given the other players around him a lift, he’s made them better, the other midfielders, his stats, his goals, his assists, he’s often playing with a smile on his face, huge confidence.
"He’s been an amazing signing. He’s playing with a lot of freedom, we see plenty of clips of him - what an outstanding player, he always knows what’s going on around him.
"Good range of passing and when he plays with Fred and McTominay, they do give him that freedom to get forward and get on the end of things.
"Decision-making, end product, it looks pretty simple, but a lot of players can’t do these things."
Pogba has returned to form in the last month, forcing his way back into the team alongside Fernandes, and Keane feels the French World Cup winner also benefits from playing in front of Fred and McTominay.
He said: "He’s done a little bit better in the last few games, he’s contributed. Again, when Pogba plays, he’s got a bit more freedom when Fred and McTominay are behind him, he can get forward obviously.
"We’ve never questioned Pogba’s talents, what we’ve spoken about is the niggling injuries he’s had, the talk of him wanting to leave the club, his agent says a lot, but when he’s focused on the game, he knows the game.
"We just haven’t seen it week-in, week-out. He won the penalty against Villa, he had one or two chances there where he probably should’ve scored."
