Comparing Fred’s 2017-18 stats to Manchester United’s existing midfield
Jose Mourinho is set to bolster his Manchester United midfield with the signing of Shakhtar Donetsk’s Fred.
Fred is close to completing a £47million move to Old Trafford – scratching Mourinho’s itch for a Brazilian player.
We’ve compared the 25-year-old’s statistics from last season to those of the players he is likely to rival for a place in Mourinho’s starting XI – Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic, Ander Herrera and Scott McTominay.
Goals and assists
Fred may not have been signed to add goals to Manchester United’s midfield, but he still managed four in all competitions for Shakhtar last season.
Only Pogba, with six, scored more for United, while Matic and Herrera bagged two each. McTominay is yet to hit the back of the net for the Red Devils.
In terms of assists, Fred registered seven in all competitions. Once again, only Pogba (12) recorded more. Matic created three goals for team-mates and Herrera two. McTominay is also awaiting his first assist for the club.
🇧🇷 Rivaldo on Fred: "He is a wonderful player. He is going to be good for Manchester United and they will be good for him."#UCL pic.twitter.com/aUqtEYxzJy
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) June 6, 2018
Passing and attacking
More detailed stats relating to Fred’s performances last season are only available for the Champions League, in which the midfielder created on average of 1.1 chances per 90 minutes.
In comparison to his Manchester United rivals’ efforts in the Premier League, only Pogba bests that figure with 1.6. Matic averages 0.7 per 90 minutes, Herrera 0.8 and McTominay 0.3.
In terms of passing accuracy, the more conservative approach of McTominay comes out on top with a success rate of 88%. There is little between Herrera (87.6%) and Matic (87.7%), while Fred (85.9%) just beats Pogba (85.3%).
Pogba leads the way when it comes to successful dribbles per 90 minutes with 3.1. Fred comes second with 2.9, but the Brazilian’s success rate of 87.9% is an improvement on Pogba’s (73.8%).
Matic makes the third most with 1.6, at a success rate of 84.2%. Herrera and McTominay both make 0.7 successful dribbles per 90 minutes, though Herrera has a better success rate (70% vs 63.6%).
READ: The 13 Brazilian players signed by Jose Mourinho: From Derlei to Willian
Defensive contributions
Jose Mourinho famously has high expectations for his players’ defensive work-rate, and Herrera leads the way in terms of tackles, averaging four per 90 minutes at a success rate of 53.3%.
Fred’s Champions League displays rank second with 2.9 (56.9%), followed by Matic’s two (58.8%). McTominay’s 1.6 (59.3%) is marginally better than Pogba’s 1.4 (53.8%).
Herrera also comes out on top with interceptions thanks to an average of 2.4 per 90 minutes. McTominay is next with 1.9, followed by Matic (1.8), Fred (1.1) and Pogba (0.9).
One area in which Fred – who is just over 5ft 5in tall – struggles, unsurprisingly, is aerial duels. The 25-year-old only won 0.1 aerial duels per 90 minutes in the Champions League at a success rate of 12.5%.
Pogba averaged the most successful aerial duels per 90 minutes for United (2.1) at a success rate of 61.8%. This is followed by McTominay (1.7 at 54.8%), Matic (1.6 at 64%) and Herrera (0.6 at 42.9%).
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