Manchester United need to strengthen their team to challenge for the PL title next season and reports suggest that they are close to completing their first summer signing.
According to Manchester Evening News, the Red Devils are close to making Shakhtar midfielder Fred their first summer signing and the deal is expected to be completed at the start of next month.
As far as Manchester United’s current midfield is concerned, Michael Carrick has retired, Fellaini will be out of contract next month and Herrera has mostly been a bench warmer in the last campaign. The Spanish international could only start 13 times in the league.
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In such a situation, the Old Trafford club desperately need to reinforce their midfield and a versatile midfielder like Fred, who has a release clause of €60million (MEN), will be a quality signing for Jose Mourinho.
The question is, how will Mourinho utilize Fred in his starting XI? The 25-year-old Samba star can effectively play in the DM and CM positions. At United, Serbian international Nemanja Matic is the first choice holding midfield star and Pogba is the chief creative midfielder, who operates in the attack as well.
Mourinho has been using the 4-3-3 formation lately and we can expect Fred to line up with the likes of Matic and Pogba in the center of the park if he does end up moving to United.
Here is how Man Utd will line up with Fred, who scored 4 goals and provided 7 assists in all competitions for Shakhtar this season.