Manchester United midfielder to fight for Old Trafford future

Manchester United midfielder Fred is prepared to fight for his future at the club, according to the player’s agent and former Arsenal star Gilberto Silva.

Fred turned down the chance to join Manchester City in order to link up with Jose Mourinho at Manchester United after being told he would form the Portuguese’s dream midfield alongside Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic.

United spent £52m to sign Fred from Shakhtar Donetsk but the Brazil international has endured a torrid time this season and was effectively frozen out by Mourinho, who remarkably confirmed the midfielder would not play until United’s defence was water-tight.

Mourinho, however, was sacked on Tuesday and replaced by United fan favourite Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who has already confirmed every player at the club will have a fresh start during his six-month interim spell.

There were even suggestions towards the end of Mourinho’s tenure that Fred would re-assess his future at the club in January but his agent has rubbished those claims and insists the 25-year-old is ready to become an important player for the club.

“The fact that he is not playing makes him anxious, but what I say to him is that he must keep working hard on a daily basis, he should be patient because the club is going through a delicate moment,” Silva told The Daily Telegraph.

“Many things have happened to him in six months. A new lifestyle, a different league and a historic club with the grandeur of United that are going under a lot of pressure. Perhaps this pressure impacts on him as well. In spite of all that, he sees everything as a learning process.

“But there is no chance of him leaving United. He has a five-year contract. It is not because the first six months were not good enough that he is willing to leave - or even after one year. Obviously when you don’t play too much it is worrying because you want to show your quality. Although from the outside view it seems there is tension regarding him not playing that much, his work on a daily basis has been good.

“The club’s moment does not help anybody. It is not only related to Fred. The fact that the club is facing one of the toughest situations over the last years made Fred arrive with a huge pressure inside the club. Mourinho’s sacking is an example of that, and there is an impact on everybody, not only on Fred, who is grateful for Mourinho believing in his signing.

“There was no problem between them, only respect. Even though Fred is trying to do his best and is expecting to play more, he respects the directions from above him.”

Fred has only started six Premier League matches for United this season and made two further appearances from the bench. His WhoScored rating is a poor 6.67