‘We’re building something great here’: Fred’s prediction for Man Utd next season under Erik ten Hag

Manchester United have begun life well under Erik ten Hag. The Red Devils went undefeated in their pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia, winning three of their four matches.

The Dutchman guided his new squad to a convincing 4-0 win over Liverpool in Bangkok, before beating Melbourne Victory and Crystal Palace and drawing 2-2 with Aston Villa down under.

One player who has featured in all four of United’s pre-season games so far is Fred. The Brazilian scored the club’s second goal of the tour against Liverpool and believes Ten Hag is building the squad ready for their opening game of the Premier League season against Brighton & Hove Albion on 7 August.

“I believe the team spirit is getting stronger,” Fred told the Red Devils’ media team. “We’re working hard this pre-season so we can be flying when the league starts, that’s the priority.

“We’re building something great here, I hope it all works out over the season.”

Several academy graduates have also been given minutes by Ten Hag, something Fred is hoping will continue come the competitive campaign.

“Of course, there’s a lot of quality with the young players, they’ve been impressing the manager as well,” he added.

“They’ve been great in training and in matches during this pre-season. I hope they can help us, the older players look to help them to settle into the team as well.

“Hopefully they can do great things with us in the future.”

Fred had his best season as a Red Devil last year, scoring four goals and assisting his team-mates on six occasions. He played in a more advanced role under Ralf Rangnick, but is happy to play wherever is required by Ten Hag next campaign.

“Last season, I played a bit further forward under Ralf, he gave me a bit more freedom to get in the box to score and assist,” the United no.17 said. “We’ll see what Erik asks of me now, he may want me more in the build-up of play.

“As I just said, regardless of scoring, I want to help my team-mates. I want to carry the piano on the pitch for them to score and help the team.

“The most important thing is that we achieve our goals to take us as far as possible.”

United continue their pre-season preparations against Atletico Madrid on Saturday in Oslo, before returning to Manchester to take on Rayo Vallecano at Old Trafford on Sunday.