“The thing is, if I stay fit, I can be that player.”

With his United career thus far dictated largely by injury, midfielder Anderson needs to get a good season under his belt.

The Brazilian has struggled to remain injury free in his tenure at United, and this has meant we are yet to see how good the Brazilian is. There have been flickers and false dawns but entering into his 6th season, he will need to prove his worth and show why Sir Alex gave the go ahead to splash £26m on him.

A number of central midfielders have been linked with United, it was rumoured Anderson would be used as a makeweight for Belgian Axel Witsel, but Anderson believes that if he can stay fit he can solve Manchester United’s often highlighted midfield problem.

Speaking to FIFA after United’s 1-1 draw with Ajax Cape Town, Anderson said:

“No-one wants a player who has a lot of injuries. But I am still young. I am only 24. And I believe I can get through this.

“All summer I stayed in Europe to work on my knee. Now I am 100 per cent. I don’t have any more injuries. I don’t have a problem.

“In my first three years we won everything; Champions League, Premier League, Carling Cup. But then I suffered a cruciate injury and had a bad problem.

“I tried to push through it when I came back, but it was still sore. Sometimes it was bad and the pain stayed. Sometimes you think you might have to change clubs, but I love it here. The club has always helped me, as have the other players. I have worked so hard trying to get right.

“Manchester United have some good players; Scholes, Carrick, Cleverley, Giggs. If we bring in new players it will help even more, although you could say that about any club.

“The thing is, if I stay fit, I can be that player. I can be a success at United. You have seen, when I don’t have a problem, I play well. The problems come when I have an injury. After six or seven games last season it felt as though one leg was 30% weaker than the other.”