Former Manchester United midfielder Kleberson has explained why he thinks Fred has improved so much recently after initially getting off to a slow start at Old Trafford.
The Brazil international was highly regarded at his former club Shakhtar Donetsk, but struggled to adapt to his new surroundings when he made the move to Man Utd in the summer of 2018.
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In fairness to Fred, many of the United team were struggling at that time, with the club not in a good state under previous manager Jose Mourinho.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer ended up replacing Mourinho later that season, and Fred has become an increasingly important part of the side since then.
Speaking to the Independent, Kleberson says he feels Fred’s role has changed slightly under Solskjaer, though he isn’t certain that was a deliberate tactical decision by the Norwegian tactician.
He says, though, that Fred has improved since moving into a deeper midfield role than the more advanced position he was in under Mourinho.
“From my point of view, Fred understood that he had to change his way of playing to succeed at United,” Kleberson told the Independent.
“I don’t know if the idea came from him or Solskjaer but he started to play in a more defensive role in comparison to the further forward position he used to play under Jose Mourinho.
“With that he started to play in a simpler style, got his confidence back, and was able to show the quality he has always had with great passing in the build-up.”