Laurie Whitwell has spoken about Fred's performance during Manchester United's 3-0 win against Watford, during a Q&A on The Athletic.

What did he say?

It was a comfortable win for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team in the end, thanks to goals from Bruno Fernandes, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood.

There will be plenty of individuals receiving plaudits for their performances considering how one-sided the scoreline was, but that seemingly isn't the case for Fred.

There were questions asked of the Brazilian by fans during the Q&A, with Whitwell replying to one fan who specifically picked at the Brazilian's quality on the ball.

The Athletic journalist responded saying: "Yes in that sense he had a poor game - so many stray passes - but he brings energy and discipline."

Watch Manchester United Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

Improvements still needed

Fred has become an important player for United this season, making 20 Premier League starts in their midfield and coming off the bench on a further three occasions. That does not necessarily mean that he has perfected his game though.

The midfielder is still yet to record a single goal or assist in the Premier League, hitting some terrible shots from near the edge of the box, such as the one that he attempted to side-foot into the top corner during the weekend fixture.

He made the second-highest number of bad touches of any player in red and executed various "stray passes" as Whitwell put it, even if he did end the game with a pass success rate of 85.1%. The 26-year-old also didn't make any dribbles throughout the game.

Is life under the Glazers really that bad? Maybe this quiz will change your minds, Man United fans...

Now that Scott McTominay is coming back, as signified by the fact he came off the bench, while Nemanja Matic is still available, it will be interesting to see whether Fred is able to keep hold of his place in United's starting lineup.

He may need to improve his quality on the ball if he is to put his position in the midfield beyond any doubt.

Meanwhile, United have their eyes set on a Europa League talent.