As Fergies first generation of players reach their twilight with only Ryan Giggs remaining, the current now squad has a strong backbone of youth within it. Disregarding Rooney (25), Nani (24), Valencia (25), Fletcher (27), Young (26), who all have a great deal of experience in first team football (although Young's was at Villa). These five players can all be considered senior players and still all have many, many years ahead of them in their career. In this post I want to focus on the mainly on the players who are just breaking through, gaining first team experience and clearly showing the potential to become the future on Man Utd.
The most obvious and exciting area to start is with our potential future back five;
1
de Gea
21 4 12 20
Rafael Jones Smalling Fábio
Clearly with Ferdinand, Vidic and Evra still at the club these players we may only see this formation in the Carling cup this season but a few years down the line as each of them learns from those around them, and gains priceless first team experience this could be the leagues most formidable back-line for season after season. The da Silva twins (21), Smalling (21), de Gea (20) and Jones (19) have the potential to be together in this Man Utd squad for more than the next decade together. Obviously I am making a large assumption that they will all continue with Utd for this time but if they all fulfil their potential, each of them has the opportunity to be one of the top players in the world in each of their positions.
In midfield we have Anderson (23), who many feared would never make the grade. In the second half of last season where Fletcher's illness allowed him the opportunity to get into the first team again. He seemed to take the opportunity well and impressed enough to earn a new 3-year contract extension. The new season will be a massive one for Anderson, especially if we don't bring in Nasri, Sneijder or another central midfielder. He will be expected by many to step up and continue his good form and attempt to fill the boots of the mighty Paul Scholes.
Tom Cleverly (21) has also returned to the squad after spending two and a half seasons on loan and along with Danny Welbeck (20) who spent last season on loan with Sunderland. Both of these young reds will be hoping to have a number of chances to make their mark this season. With a hint from Sir Alex that this may be the case as he stated, while announcing that neither of them would go on loan again this season
Another player who returns from loan with high hopes of making an impact at United in the future is 'Kiko' Macheda (19). Never one to lack confidence but 'Kiko' admits he struggled on loan last season and that he now knows that Manchester United is the greatest club in the world, and it is where he hopes to stay."Going on loan only serves one purpose; keeping them happy by playing all the time. At their ages, it wouldn't do us any good because other clubs would be benefiting from what we could be benefiting from" - Sir Alex Ferguson on Cleverley and Welbeck
With the players I have highlighted in this post, I think it is fair to say Sir Alex has built a squad with the potential for greatness around a nucleus of top quality players....and I think he will want to hang around to see the outcome of his endeavours."I really wanted to have an experience in Italy, but I now hope to stay in the Premier League." - Federico Macheda on his future
One thing is for sure at Old Trafford, The future is bright......the future is
Edit: Cannot believe I posted this to my blog without even mentioning Chícharito. Hernandez only 23 and after his first season with the Reds has proven himself to be more than capable of finding the back of the net on a regular basis. Something which Kiko and Welbeck will have to prove when they are awarded chances this year, if they are to knock the 'Little Pea' down the pecking order. Nevermind contending with Berbatov who was top goal scorer in the premier league last year and looking to prove a point after his heartbreak of being left out of the champions league final squad. Hernandez has the speed and brains to make sure he will be in the right place at the right time and I just hope he improves the number of times he gets caught offside. Although I do accept no matter how frustrating it may be at times, this is the risk he has take when he plays off the back four as he does.
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