Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has played down the arrival of Brazilian midfielder Fred, insisting no one can replace Michael Carrick.
Carrick, 36, retired at the end of last season having had little playing time due to a heart complaint and is now a coach at the Old Trafford club.
United finished second in the Premier League but were still 19 points off title winners and rivals Manchester City, which led Mourinho to strengthen his squad in the transfer window with Fred, Diogo Dalot and Lee Grant.
But while Mourinho believes Fred could be an important player, the Portuguese manager is holding off before making any telling predictions.
“People like Nemanja Matic, Marouane Fellaini, Paul Pogba, even Ander Herrera, are physical and strong midfielders,” he told a press conference, via United’s official website.
“We think that players like Fred, and Andreas Pereira, are more technical, passing and playing in short spaces and maybe connecting with the attacking players.
“There is no successor for Michael Carrick.
“We thought Fred could be an important player for us but let’s wait.”
Fred joined United in June for £50m, signing a five-year deal having spent five years in Ukraine with Shakhtar Donetsk.
During that time, the Brazilian scored 14 goals in 156 appearances across all competitions and won three top-flight titles as well as earning eight caps for the Brazilian national team.
No replacement for Carrick
At the end of last season, Carrick called time on a 19-year senior career in which he represented West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur and United, playing a career total of 706 games.
Carrick won 12 major trophies, all of which have come during his spell at Man United, including five Premier Leagues, three League Cups, one FA Cup, one Europa League, one Champions League and the Club World Cup.
The midfielder also earned 34 caps for England, playing one game in the 2006 World Cup.
The post ‘There is no Carrick successor’ – Jose Mourinho plays down Fred arrival in 10-minute press conference appeared first on Squawka News.
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