UNITED SPECIAL Fred brings tech to United’s midfield
FRED has confirmed he is on his way to meet his new United team-mates in the US.
The 25-year-old has been enjoying a three-week holiday following Brazil’s exit from the World Cup earlier this month.
Jose Mourinho previously revealed that both Fred and David de Gea would be following Nemanja Matic out to the US this week – Matic completed his first full day of pre-season training on Tuesday. And it seems Fred will link up with the squad before their game against Liverpool in Detroit on Sunday. The Brazilian posted two updates on his social media accounts on Wednesday ahead of flying out. The first, on Instagram, simply says ‘Last day in Brazil before pre-season’ while the second, on Facebook, is a selfie video of Fred from his unveiling at United with the caption: ‘I’m coming’.
Fred has requested an English teacher rather than a translator to help him settle at United and Mourinho moved quickly to tie up a deal for the former Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder.
“Fred is a technical player,” Mourinho told reporters earlier this week.
“Having people in the squad like (Nemanja) Matic, (Marouane) Fellaini, Pogba, even Ander (Herrera) – physical people, strong – we think a player like Fred, Andreas Pereira – more technical, more quality of passing, playing in short spaces, will maybe connect with the attacking players.
“We thought that he could be an important player for us – but let’s wait.” AS the Uber driver approaches the Beverly Hills hotel it soon becomes apparent his is the smallestsized vehicle crammed into the parking lot. There are Bentleys, Range Rovers and even a souped-up Batmobile.
The doorman obligingly beckons us towards the entrance and as we are approaching Jose Mourinho is hurriedly exiting.
He diplomatically pauses to shake the journalists’ hands and offers a pat on the back. But we are not here to see him.
Luke Shaw is our interviewee and we are early. The bar is sparse but from our stools we can see it is bustling in the hallway.
At 1.30pm, we enter a balcony that doubles as a private interviewing room and Shaw is waiting for us.
Shaw is enjoying Los Angeles but United are likely to tour elsewhere next year. He is preparing to be at the club then.
What is striking about Shaw is that he is not fat. His build is bulky but muscular and Mourinho is a stickler for powerful players, and Shaw showed in the hairdryer breeze of Phoenix that he is capable of supplementing power with pace.
Shaw’s height is listed at six foot or an inch more on certain websites, yet he looks smaller in stature. That creates an illusion with his weight, which has been a recurring topic since Louis van Gaal questioned Shaw’s fitness during his first pre-season with United four years ago.
Shaw’s holiday photos were derided on social media in June, yet the 23-year-old looked shredded in Dubai.
“Everyone looked at me like I was a different sort of person,” he says of that Instagram upload. “People think because of the way that I’m naturally built I’m bigger than I am. Of course, people can say that I’m fat but I know my own body.
“Of course I always look big because I’m bigger built and I’m sort of, you could say a Wayne Rooney type of body. But of course I worked hard and not just for them [the critics], but I wanted to for myself get in the best shape, and that wasn’t my best shape.”
Shaw ‘liked’ a tweet defending his physique after holiday photos of him in Ibiza were lampooned. He is bound to scroll through the bile that keyboard warriors post in an era of cyber bullying and he is a victim of body-shaming. Does the grief affect him?
“I guess you’ve just got to take it because there is always going to be negative criticism and positive,” he muses. “But I think both of them can make you stronger.
“And I think I’ve been unlucky because I’ve had a few sort of ups and downs with different managers, but I would say I’ve never been out of shape.
“And, honestly, I feel really good and I’m raring to go. The minutes are only going to help me become fitter, and that’s what I need, minutes and hard work in training and then I’ll feel great.”
Shaw is getting minutes, having started United’s three pre-season matches in the absence of Ashley Young. His fitness is unquestionable following a gruelling five days in 45-degree Dubai heat with