Fred pleased to ‘erupt’ at Man Utd alongside Pogba after overcoming tough start in England

Manchester United midfielder Fred is pleased to have “erupted” at the same time as Paul Pogba and a number of other team-mates at Old Trafford, with the Brazilian fully recovered from being branded a £52.5 million ($72m) flop.

A big-money deal was done to take a talented South American onto the books of a Premier League heavyweight during the summer of 2018.

Fred initially struggled in English football, with questions of his value to the collective cause leading to him slipping down the pecking order.

A renaissance has been enjoyed under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, with the 27-year-old now a regular part of the Red Devils’ plans as he thrives alongside the likes of rejuvenated World Cup winner Pogba.

“Paul Pogba, me and other players have erupted as Manchester United erupted,” Fred, who has helped Solskjaer’s side back into Premier League title contention this season, told the Daily Mail.

“'Paul was always saying that he wanted to do more, to play more, to win more and we see that in training. There is a lot of talent in him and we see it every day. But I have to include our leader, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, when I talk about the club because he is a guy who knows how to get into the players' minds, their skin, making us play better and I grew in confidence.

“He did not say a lot, but I became a starter, kept playing, and I feel that it was his trust that made it possible.”

Fred concedes that he fell short of expectations after linking up with United and could have easily walked away from a big career challenge as another transfer was mooted.

He added: “At the beginning, I felt the distance from other players and I even felt alone sometimes.

“I lacked support maybe, but I could not speak the language that well, so it sort of became a barrier between the players and me.

“I knew there was just one recipe to success: keep on training, not letting those bad comments affect my mind. If I was an angry guy, I guess I'd have thrown it all away because of what I heard during those times.”

Fred knuckled down and worked his way back into favour and form, with lofty targets now being set on individual and collective levels.

The Brazil international went on to say of his ambition: “It's about building a legacy. Because I was called a flop ever since I got here, my only intention is to be part of Manchester United's history.

“I have many things to give, many games to play and many titles to win. To be honest, I think we have a team to play against everyone. This year, the title race seems to be one of the most hotly contested and the Premier League is on our mind, of course, but we don't forget the FA Cup or the Europa League. We are all in.”