Man Utd’s ‘Biggest Transfer Error’ Finds Success Beyond Ten Hag Era
The Brazilian midfielder, who became Jose Mourinho’s second manager acquisition, joined United in 2018 for a reported £52 million from Shakhtar Donetsk.
Fred did not, however, live up to the hype in Manchester, even though he made 213 appearances for the team.
During his five seasons at Old Trafford, he only brought home one trophy, which he earned earlier this year when United defeated Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final.
While Erik ten Hag’s first season in the dugout saw Fred emerge as a valuable utility player, by then he was too strongly linked to a period of United’s history marked by extravagant spending but little return on investment.
Following Mason Mount’s arrival, United opted to sell Fred during the summer, but they suffered a huge loss when they sold him to Fenerbahce, a Turkish powerhouse, for somewhat less than £13 million.
Since joining United for £55 million from Chelsea, Mount’s performance might be argued to be worse than Fred’s at Chelsea. The England international hasn’t done anything to strengthen United’s feeble midfield and has struggled with form and fitness.
Ten Hag might be regretting not holding onto Fred, since United is already having difficulty staying in touch with the top four.
That’s because Fred is flying high with his new club.
Fenerbahce and Galatasaray, their bitter rivals, are currently tied for first place in the Turkish Super Liga.
What’s even more amazing is that in his 16 club appearances, Fred has never lost. Every single time, he has been on the winning side.
This season, Fenerbahce has dropped three games—two in the Europa Conference League and one in the league—but Fred hasn’t played in any of them.
Due to a groyne injury, the 30-year-old was sidelined for the majority of November. Since his return to play, Fenerbahce has won both of their games.
There may be some awkward phone calls to make in January if Ten Hag feels he needs extra reinforcements.