Manchester United will be in for two central midfielders over the summer as Michael Carrick is retiring and Marouane Fellaini is set to leave on a free transfer.
This will leave us with only four established central midfielders on our books – Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic, Ander Herrera and Scott McTominay, despite Jose Mourinho predominately playing a 4-3-3 formation following the arrival of Alexis Sanchez in January.
We have been linked to several central midfielders ahead of the summer transfer window and one name that has popped up frequently is Shakhtar Donetsk’s Fred.
It now appears we could be closing on a deal for the Brazilian as the Daily Star report that Manchester United officials have held discussions with the 25-year-old’s representatives in recent weeks, ahead of a £40 million offer.
Fred could fit the bill perfectly in Jose Mourinho’s side as he is a ball winning midfielder who also supports the attack – essentially an upgrade on Ander Herrera who only has a year left on his contract.
The Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder impressed in the Champions League this season, helping the Ukrainian side reach the second round. As a result he has been named as part of the 23-man Brazil squad for this summer’s World Cup.
Fred has been with the Ukrainian champions since signing from Internacional for €15 million in 2013 and has made nearly 100 league appearances for the club.
We have also been strongly linked with Napoli’s Jorginho, Real Madrid’s Toni Kroos, Borussia Dortmund’s Julian Weigl and Nice’s Jean Seri, among others, in recent weeks.
