Manchester United's first-team central midfielders rated by Roy Keane

Roy Keane has built a punditry career on his no-nonsense criticism of footballers.

As a former Manchester United captain and midfielder himself, Keane has never been shy when it comes to picking apart United's current crop of midfielders. In the studio, just like on the pitch, Keane has not held back.

With that in mind, here's exactly what he thinks about United's midfielders.

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Back in 2021, Keane was furious with Fred's performance at Wolverhampton Wanderers. He told his Sky Sports colleagues: "Sometimes I think if you’re going to play in midfield for a big club, you’ve got to hang your hat on something to say 'well he’s brilliant at going forward' or 'he’s brilliant defensively' or 'he’s got a goal in him' or 'he’s great at'… I don’t see any of them in Fred, any of them."

However, following Fred's improving displays for the club, Keane eventually made a surprising U-turn. Speaking after United beat Leeds, a game in which Fred scored in, the former United captain joked on Sky Sports: "Fred, to be fair, he's improved over the last couple of months.

"Fred's been criticised, yeah, by Robbie [Keane]. He's added a couple of goals and assists - about time for him."

Scott McTominay, along with Fred, has been subjected to a lot of criticism from Keane. The ex-United captain once claimed his former club 'would not win any trophies with Fred and McTominay in the middle'.

"People talk about Fred and McTominay in midfield, they’ve had their chance, we’ve seen them," he said on Sky Sports in 2020.

"I don’t think they’re bad players, but they won’t get United back to winning league titles. Tim [Cahill, fellow pundit on Sky]