Fred Responds To Exit Rumours Following Donny Van De Beek's Arrival At Manchester United

Manchester United midfielder Fred has strongly played down speculation that he wants to leave Old Trafford this summer.

Following the arrival of Donny van de Beek from Ajax in a £40 million deal last week, the Brazil international was linked with a move to Turkish side Galatasaray. In fact, those rumours were further intensified when he briefly liked a post on Instagram regarding the interest.

Fred, who struggled to maintain a place in United's starting XI towards the end of last season, despite making 23 consecutive Premier League starts before Project Restart, faces huge competition in United's midfield in the coming months.

The likes of Scott McTominay, Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes will all challenge for a first team spot and, despite the recent addition of another potential midfield prospect, Van de Beek, a positive Fred has pledged his future to United in a recent interview with FourFourTwo.

"I want to stay here - that's my desire," he said.

"I don't want to leave. As I've always said, I want to be an important player and win trophies for this club. [Van de Beek's arrival] means we're getting stronger and that's good for everyone at United.

"We need more players for this season because it will be even more demanding. The calendar is crammed and we need a strong squad to compete for every title.

"When you play at a big club, there will always be competition - I'm used to it. It's been like that from day one at United."

In the same interview, Fred also played down suggestions Manchester United had a good 2019/20 season, despite attaining Champions League football after finishing third in the Premier League.

"We can't say it was a good season, because we didn't win a trophy," he added.

"For a club like Manchester United, it's not a good season without a title.

"We managed to reach three semi-finals but lost them all. We were close to our goals, but they just didn't come our way - I was really confident that we would win something, but it didn't happen.

"At least we managed to play good football at times during the campaign, and qualifying for the Champions League was very important because this club must be in that competition.

"It was crucial to get our place back, but that alone isn't enough: we want to fight for that title, too.

"The good thing is that we're improving as a team and I think we're heading in the right direction. Trophies will come our way soon."

Will Manchester United win a trophy in the coming season? Have they strengthened enough in this summer's transfer window?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

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Topics: Football News, Football, Manchester United, Transfers, Turkey, Premier League, Fred

Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare is a writer at SPORTbible. He's interviewed some of the biggest names in sport, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pele, Carles Puyol and Tim Henman. He dabbles in all things sport but football is his biggest passion. He was once hit in the head by a wayward strike from Nicky Butt and lived to tell the tale.

@jackkenmare_