Serge and Lucas on 'Fred' alert

Over the summer, Manchester United moved to secure the signing of central midfielder Fred from Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk.

A Brazilian international, Fred started his professional career in his homeland with Internacional before making the move to Ukraine in 2013, where he has spent the last five seasons.

Having started United’s first two games of the new Premier League campaign, the 25-year-old could line up against us at Old Trafford on Bank Holiday Monday.

To learn a bit more about the new man in Jose Mourinho’s side, we spoke to two members of our squad who are familiar with him.

Right-back Serge Aurier went up against Fred when PSG faced Shakhtar in Champions League action back in 2015, scoring in a 3-0 win for the French side, while attacking midfielder Lucas – who also featured against Shakhtar in that European campaign – has kept a close eye on Fred as a fellow Brazilian international and a former top-flight player in his homeland, Lucas having represented Sao Paulo and Fred being a former Internacional star.

Familiar opponent

“Fred is a very good player,” said Serge as he cast his mind back to his Champions League group stage encounter with the new United man in Ukraine three seasons ago.

“He likes to play freely with the ball, he likes to run and he moves well from box to box.

“I remember when I played against him when he was at Shakhtar Donetsk and I was at PSG, he played well but he was only young then.

“Now he has got much more experience, he’s been to the World Cup. He signed with Manchester United in the summer and, for me, that was a good decision by United. He’s good defensively and it’s a big, big test when you’re against him but we also have very good players and we will be trying to play our game and get the three points.”

Fellow countryman

“It’s very good to have another Brazilian in the Premier League and in a strong team like Manchester United,” said Lucas, who has won 35 caps for Seleção to date.

“Fred is a very, very good player, he’s young and he has a big future both in the Premier League and in the national team.

“He has a lot of quality. When he gets forward from midfield, he can shoot with both feet and he is quick and intelligent.

“I think he can be a very good player for United and I’m happy that he’s here in the Premier League, but I hope we win against him this time!”