Solskjaer explains why he starts Fred & McTominay in Man United’s midfield so often
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has moved to outline why he uses Scott McTominay and Fred in a midfield pairing so often.
Man United’s McFred midfield
Following the close of the summer transfer window, it has become even more clear to all that Manchester United’s weakest area is defensive midfield.
Fred and/or Scott McTominay are generally deployed in this area, alongside Paul Pogba in the ‘McFred’ pivot.
However, both players (particularly the former) are simply not cut out to be a leading defensive midfielder for a top side.
The Brazilian has been particularly poor over the last few years, prompting Roy Keane to question whether United can realistically challenge for major silverware with the Brazilian in their midfield:
“All of United’s shortcomings have been shown up in the last couple of days. Look at the performance of the two midfielders. [Scott] McTominay is a good, honest player. And they’ve got Fred. As long as those two players are in midfield for Manchester United, they will not be winning any big trophies.”
Solskjaer on picking McTominay and Fred
Despite the pair not being the highest quality defensive midfielders, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has generally preferred to use the McFred pivot over any other midfield combination in recent years.
This has generally led to Paul Pogba playing more on the left – where he does seem to play his better football – Nemanja Matic only being used on occasion and Donny van de Beek, well, the less said about his United stint the better.
Now though, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has explained why he starts Fred and McTominay so often, with the Norwegian keen to highlight the energy and desire they bring:
“As you said, first of all, the stats for those two together, we’ve had many, many good results, the energy they give us, the way we broke up play against Villa, they’re very, very instrumental together, in that respect. Energy and desire, and I really like to have the two of them.
“They’re two who I can trust and will always give what they’ve got. Fans will always have an opinion on any team selection and when you have got good players like me it’s hard to leave players out.”
Quotes via the Manchester Evening News.
