Robin van Persie has suggested that the inclusion of Fred in Manchester United's starting lineup is hindering the performances of Harry Maguire.

The Brazil international has started three of United's last four matches, including last weekend's 1-0 home loss to Arsenal in the Premier League.

Fred was praised for his display in United's recent 5-0 win over RB Leipzig, but former striker Van Persie believes that he is causing problems when used in a deeper position.

"Everyone is talking about Maguire being fantastic on the ball - so far he's not been fantastic on the ball going forward, with his passing," he told BT Sport.

"But that's not only down to him. I talked with Owen [Hargreaves] about the positioning of the team overall and in some situations the team is not well positioned.

"You see Fred coming to take the ball from centre-back, he should not do that. Maguire should do that. He can do that forward pass. He should player higher up the pitch, where it is more difficult to play, but it gives everyone more options.

"The forward players should play as high as possible and find spaces in that area and not drop too deep. You see it's not clicking because the positioning of the players is not right most of the time."

Following Wednesday's surprise Champions League defeat to Istanbul Basaksehir, United will be looking to respond when they travel to Everton on Saturday.