How Manchester United beat Manchester City to £52m Fred transfer
When Fred pulls on Manchester Uniteds red shirt for the first time next season the Brazilian is entitled to feel a sense of vindication.
The midfielder was 19 when he left Brazilian side Internacional for Shakhtar Donestk and dreamed of treading the same path as his countryman Willian and Fernandinho in leaving Ukraine to join a Premier League club.
Fred arrived in Donestk as a talented, if rough around the edges, attacking midfielder. Under former manager Mircea Lucescu the Brazilian became more dynamic and developed into a box-to-box midfielder.
It was this dynamism that caught the eye of Pep Guardiola when Shakhtar beat Manchester City in the Champions League last December. Fred impressed in the reverse fixture at the Etihad that City won 2-0 but was even better in Donetsk when the Ukrainians ended Citys 28-match unbeaten run with a 2-1 victory.
Guardiola took little convincing that Fred could fit in at City and within a fortnight the club were in talks with Shakhtar over the midfielder.
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Negotiations progressed quickly and in January Fred believed he was on the cusp of making his Premier League dream a reality but it was the Etihad, not Old Trafford, that would be his new home.
Former Shakhtar boss Mircea Lucescu on Fred
Shakhtar Donetsks best player is Fred in the centre of midfield. He was a bit anarchic on the left. I moved him in front of the defence. He will go to City like Fernandinho before him.
Fred was excited at the prospect of joining City, viewing Guardiola as an ideal mentor. The Brazilian spoke to his international team-mates Fernandinho and Gabriel Jesus about life at the club and the quiet nature of north-west is said to have appealed to him.
However, Metro.co.uk understands an injury to Vincent Kompany in late December eventually scuppered Freds move to City. The Belgian limped out of Citys 1-0 win against Newcastle after just 10 mins with a recurrence of a long-term calf problem.
City had a healthy lead at the top of the Premier League table but Guardiola would not risk the clubs title bid and Aymeric Laporte – who nearly joined the club a year earlier – became his priority.
Laporte arrived for a club record £57m and City no longer felt they could afford Fred in the same window. Guardiola, at this point at least, was happy to wait until the summer to get his man but the Spaniard became increasingly fond of Napoli star Jorginho and by February Freds representatives had ended discussions with City.
United, too, had shown interest in Jorginho but ended their interest when they got wind from the midfielders team that he preferred a move to the Etihad.
With City out of the picture, United essentially had a free run at Fred and knew the Brazilian wanted to move to the Premier League.
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Despite speculation throughout the second half of last season, Mourinho wants to keep Paul Pogba and the acquisition of Fred is set to provide the Frenchman greater licsence to attack in a three-man midfield.
Fred on how he changed underPaulo Fonseca at Shakhtar
Fonseca allows me to play both offensively and defensively, and my main task is to change the direction of attacking moves.
While Nemanja Matics arrival has aided Pogbas reluctance to track back, the Serbians often guilty of taking too many touches in attack and Mourinho is fond of Freds speed of thought and ability to break the lines in the middle of the park.
United moved quickly once City reneged on a deal and the Freds move to Old Trafford is expected to cost around £52m, making him the clubs fourth most expensive signing ever.
An injury in Brazil training this week is not thought to be serious and Freds arrival at the club will be announced in due course after the Red Devils confirmed theyve reached an agreement with Shakhtar Donetsk earlier this week.
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