Manchester United must beat Tottenham to show their Premier League title credentials, claims Fred

United beat Leicester on the opening day of the Premier League season but came up short against Brighton in their last game

Manchester United must beat Tottenham on Monday to show their title credentials, according to summer signing Fred.

United beat Leicester on the opening day of the Premier League season but came up short against Brighton in their last game, while Manchester City began their title defence with wins against Arsenal and Huddersfield.

The nature of United's capitulation against Brighton and continuous suggestions from players and media reports that some of the squad are unhappy mean that Monday’s tie against Tottenham is a far bigger match than originally thought.

“It’s a very important game,” Fred told Sky Sports News. “This week we’ve been working, focusing on this game, we want to go out and get the win in front of our home fans.

“We know Tottenham are a great team but we need to get the win to aspire to win the league.”

"Going into the next game we want to be focused and we want to win so we can stay in the race for the title."

After the defeat to Brighton, Paul Pogba, who captained the side, claimed that United did not deserve to beat their lower league opposition. “I’m disappointed with my performance and the team performance. We didn’t deserve to win,” he said.

Mourinho was then critical of individual mistakes and player performances, but Fred says that he has no problem with the United manager.

Fred is Manchester United's major summer signing (Action Images via Reuters)

"I'm really happy to be working with Jose Mourinho he's a great person and he's always keen to communicate with the squad and help people to be communicative regarding what they're to do on the pitch," he said.

"I'm really happy to be working with him and I hope that I'll be working for him for a while to come."

Fred added that the manager has been helping him settle at Old Trafford by communicating with him in Portuguese. "There are lots of Brazilians in the Premier League but most are playing against us," he said.

"Here I've got Andreas (Pereira) who is here at Manchester United, who has helped me a lot and been important to me and, obviously, Jose Mourinho speaks the same language.”

"I've been adapting here with my team-mates at Manchester United and, yes, this has helped a lot."

It may be early days for Fred at Old Trafford, but he is already targeting legendary status, with success in the Champions League and Premier League especially on the 25-year-old’s mind.

"I want to win these competitions and in the long term I want to win lots of trophies and I want to gain recognition from the fans and I'd love to leave a mark here and I'd love to leave a legacy at Manchester United."