Manchester United's Fred 'underrated and disrespected' claims John Barnes

Fred, 28, joined United for £47million from Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk in the summer of 2018.

The Brazilian has had some tough times in a Red Devils shirt so far and has often been a scapegoat for his side's bad performances.

There were even question marks over the signing in the first place, with former Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho insisting 'he never wanted to sign him'.

But Barnes has claimed Fred is one of interim manager Ralph Rangnick's most consistent stars right now and believes people should give him credit when it is due.

"Fred deserves more respect for the job he's doing on the pitch for Manchester United," Barnes said when speaking to BonusCodeBets.

"Fred and Scott McTominay in the midfield have unfortunately been playing in games with a front four who don't work as hard off the ball, which means the two of them are overrun [by opposing players]."

United's stars continue to come under scrutiny for their work ethic and desire, with a lot of the blame seemingly being pointed towards the Brazil international.

"As much as teams may get at Manchester United's back four easily, it's not because of those two. Fred's been treated very unfairly and judged rather harshly.

"You cannot just have two midfielders doing all of the off-the-ball work when you have a front-four who really haven't also worked tirelessly when out of possession to help supplement them.

"Fred is a good player who, every time he's played, has done okay. Ralf Rangnick is correct that he deserves more respect", Barnes added.

Ex-United defender Mikael Silvestre has also previously lauded the 28-year-old despite believing it took a lot of time for Fred to find his feet at Old Trafford.

"He took his time to adjust to the Premier League and to the pace of the game.

"When United were on a great run of games and when they kept winning, he was one of the top performers," he told Metro.co.uk on behalf of NetBet.

"He's doing the dirty work which goes unnoticed in front of the back four, but I can tell that the defence will always like these types of players because they give protection.

"I actually think he's very underrated in this team, he's someone who gives everything to the team does that job which goes unnoticed," Silvestre added.