The McFred era is finally over at Manchester United
Scott McTominay and Fred have been essential members of the Manchester United squad since the Brazilian signed in 2018. McTominay made his debut after getting promoted to the first team by Jose Mourinho in the 2016/17 season. On the other hand, Fred has virtually played or come off the bench in almost every Premier League fixture since 2018.
However, both midfielders could be putting an end to their Old Trafford careers soon. Fred is about to join Galatasaray, whereas McTominay could head to David Moyes’ West Ham United.
So as their journey at Manchester United ends, how will we remember these two midfielders? Well, both midfielders can be an asset to any top-tier squad. Regardless of what you make of them as footballers, they have also had their fair share of good performances in a Manchester United.
You can see the two iconic games against Paris Saint Germain (PSG) away from home. Manchester United won both Champions League games 3-1 and 2-1, respectively. Although Marcus Rashford grabbed the headlines in both fixtures, the midfield pivot of Fred and McTominay did the business.
Former Manchester United manager Mourinho always used to speak highly about McTominay. He said positively about the Scottish midfielder’s performance in the 2-1 win over Liverpool in the 2017/18 season. After the home leg against FC Barcelona in the 2018/19 Champions League, the former Chelsea manager referred to McTominay as “a mad dog.” He was impressed by McTominay’s pressing and his ability to recover the ball.
On the other hand, Fred was also magnificent in recovering the ball in the oppositional third. There were occasions in which Ole Gunnar Soljskaer tended to utilize him as a no.10 to recover the ball in the oppositional box and create chances for the strikers.
However, both had limitations with the ball in their feet. They were fantastic against teams who wanted to play football against Manchester United but couldn’t do much against defensive teams. McTominay was criticized for taking too much time on the ball. On the other hand, Fred always had a mistake regarding playing the ball from the back. Their lack of ball-playing ability has always disabled them from moving from being squad rotational players to first-choice players.
Both will be going into traditionally defensive teams, which can help both causes. McTominay is always a great player when his team doesn’t have the ball, and Moyes’ West Ham team is always known for being a counter-attacking side. Both Fred and McTominay can salvage their careers but will never be first-choice midfielders.
