Roy Keane has rubbished the idea that Fred enjoyed a great performance against Spurs

Prior to kick-off in the United game today Roy Keane downplayed Fred’s performance against Spurs earlier this week.

The former Manchester United captain was not understanding of people who had claimed that the Brazilian was “magnificent” in the 2-0 win on Wednesday.

Fred has taken a fair bit of stick during his time at the club, having been an easy target following his £47M move from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2018.

Recently, he brandished as a ‘League 2’ player by former player Louis Saha and it’s clear that Keane is also not a fan of the Brazilian as well, but that’s certainly no surprise.

Keane spoke prior to kick-off in the United game today and was not understanding of the praise that Fred was receiving for his performance against Spurs on Wednesday.

“He’s obviously another good option and a good player,” Keane said on Sky Sports before kick-off against Chelsea. “But with Fred, people were saying ‘he was magnificent’, I don’t get it.

“I watched the game, and I must have been watching a different game to other people. I think he did okay against a terrible Spurs team.

“The Spurs midfield the other night were shocking. There were no legs in the team, no energy, no creativity, and Fred did okay in the game.”

Fred had started United’s last two Premier League games before beginning on the bench against Chelsea.

Whilst he did come on in the second half, those two domestic starts were a step in the right direction given his only other starts were in the losses to Brighton and Brentford.

Competition for places has increased since the arrival of Christian Eriksen and Casemiro this summer, with Scott McTominay and also in a similar position to Fred in that respect.

It's likely he will continue to be a back-up midfielder which could hurt his chances of getting regular minutes at the World Cup for Brazil.