“Makes him worse than Fred in my book” – Noel Whelan questions whether Manchester United star is fit to wear the shirt after ‘poor’ derby display

Former Leeds United striker Noel Whelan claimed that Manchester United’s Harry Maguire was worse than Fred during the side's loss to Manchester City on Sunday.

Manchester United were torn apart by Manchester City in a 4-1 victory that provided a detailed outlook of how big the gap between the two rivals is. The Red Devils managed to stay in the contest until around the 68th minute. However, they seemed to concede defeat after conceding the third goal.

Jadon Sancho was the only notable spark while the rest of his team failed to stop the Sky Blues, who toyed with United for the entire second half. Harry Maguire was at fault for multiple goals while Fred was outmaneuvered and dominated in the center of the park.

However, Whelan claimed to Football Insider that Maguire was worse than the Brazilian midfielder simply because he is the Manchester United captain. He said:

“Maguire was poor and he has been for a long time. Yes, he’s not the only one but your captain is supposed to set the tone, be a leader and resilient. Maguire doesn’t provide that. That makes him worse than Fred in my book."

He added:

“Is he fit to wear the shirt and be a United captain? Probably not at this time. For £80 million, you are expecting so much more and the fans aren’t getting it.”

Manchester United handed derby embarrassment as difficult season continues

The loss means that barring multiple miracles, Manchester United will not be in the Champions League next season. Arsenal are now a point ahead while Tottenham Hotspur are five points behind with three games in hand each.

It is no secret that the club needs a major overhaul. Ralf Rangnick was supposed to bring in tactical improvement but even the best tactics are sometimes only worth the players on the field.

In that regard, too many of the senior players have proved to be passengers while multiple stars are simply out of form. Cristiano Ronaldo mysteriously did not play, with some reports claiming that the Portuguese chose to omit himself after finding out that Rangnick intended to bench him for the match.

Rangnick’s continued reliance on Fred has been questionable in recent weeks. Even at his best, the Brazilian is no match for bigger and more technical players and regularly gets found out.

However, criticizing and singling out players appears unfair because of the way this particular group of players tends to line up together. A lack of coordination in attack and defence with an inability to even perform the basic tasks properly will stay with fans for a long time.