What Young means to United

On Thursday, Manchester United announced their second signing of the summer with the addition of right winger Ashley Young. The England international joins an already strong group of wingers at Old Trafford consisting of Luis Nani, Antonio Valencia, and Park Ji-Sung. Valencia returned from injury in the best form of his life, Nani was selected Player of the Season by his teammates, and Park's work rate has kept him in the side for seasons now so Young will be hard pressed to find space in the starting 11. With 4 top wingers available to select, there are a number of ways that Sir Alex could go to accommodate them all.

The first possible option would be a change in formation away from the traditional 4-4-2. Park and Young are both capable of playing in the middle of the park and Ferguson would be able to have three of his wingers on the field at the same time with the now popular 4-2-3-1. It is unlikely that Sir Alex will switch his tactic because of the emergence of Javier Hernandez last season. Chicharito has shown himself to be the second striker in the squad behind Wayne Rooney. The pacey Mexican is not as big or as strong as Berbatov or Rooney meaning he is not suited to play as a lone striker but needs to play off of a partner. In United's current 4-4-2 formation, Rooney plays a role in which he drops deep into the space between the oppositions midfield and defense to collect the ball which virtually turns the formation into a 4-2-3-1 anyways.

The second option seems like the most obvious one: sell one of the players. Valencia basically proved himself indispensable with his fantastic play towards the end of last season after returning from a horrific injury. On the other hand, despite being named United's Player of the Season by his teammates, Nani looks the most likely to be on his way out. Despite leading the assist charts and scoring 10 goals, the Portuguese winger found himself on the bench at the climax of the season, the Champions League final against Barcelona. Nani has long been a disruptive force in the United dressing room, and now seems like as good as time as ever to part ways with the player who was expected to replace Ronaldo. Despite speculation that he will be on the way out, Nani has expressed his desire to stay and fight for a spot at Old Trafford and Park has expressed a similar desire as well. The South Korean has endeared himself to the United faithful with his hard work and determination making him a difficult player to sell.

The third and final option that I will present seems to be the most likely of the three which is to play them all. Last season, United played a total of 63 matches in all competitions which would give 4 wingers plenty of opportunities to get playing time in the first 11 including many key games. Ferguson would have no problem keeping all of them happy if this was the path he decides to take.

With the start of the season still basically two months away, Sir Alex has plenty of time to figure out what he will do with his squad. More purchases will be made this seasons and with that some players need to be sold. Wes Brown and Darron Gibson look to be close to sealing deals to see them leave but who else will be following them out the door this summer?

Growth of a Legend

Since the announcement of his transfer from Chivas to Manchester United last spring, striker Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez has caused quite a stir on the World's football scene. The little known Mexican seemed like an odd signing for Sir Alex Ferguson when it was announced but a year into his Manchester United career the deal looks like one of the greatest deals of all time. Chicharito has shown a goal scoring instinct that rivals some of the greatest goal scorers of all time including recently retired Ronaldo. His 20 goals scored for United in his first season in European football was a tremendous return for the 6 million pounds spent on him. Hernandez is know showing his tremendous finishing ability at the Gold Cup where has has scored 5 goals in 2 matches.

Javier Hernandez was born June 1, 1988 in Guadalajara, Mexico. His father, Javier Hernandez, was a well known Mexican striker as well who played in the 1986 World Cup for Mexico. Javier Sr. was nicknamed "Chicharo" meaning "pea" because of his green eyes and when he was young people started calling Javier Jr. "Chicharito" meaning "little pea" because he was the of "Chicharo."

Chicharito made his professional debut for home town team Chivas de Guadalajara when he was a teenager and quickly became a fan favorite. Hernandez scored his first professional goal in his debut with Chivaz in 2006. This terrific start was followed by a long period of hard ship. He did not score another the rest of the 2006 season and the goal draught continued for two whole seasons. The long draught which limited his playing time with Chivas finally ended in 2009 when he scored 4 goals during the season. In recent interviews, Hernandez has revealed that during this period football was no longer fun for him and he seriously considered retiring from his playing career. It was only with the support of his family that he continued and it is now paying dividends.

The "Little Pea" soon started to rack up the goals in front of his home town crowd, leading the team in scoring for two seasons where he notched up the majority of his 29 goals he scored while making 79 appearances for Chivas de Guadalajara. It was also during this time that Manchester United caught wind of the player and his potential.

Reportedly United had planned to wait to make a move for the talented, young Mexican striker in order to give him more first team experience in Mexico because of his young age but with his planned involvement in the Mexican World Cup team in South Africa they moved quickly before he was on show on the World stage. On April 28, 2010, a deal to bring Javier Hernandez to Manchester was completed in complete secrecy for a reported 6 million pound fee and a friendly with Chivas to open their new stadium. United had done their homework on the little known Chicharito who soon started to make a name for himself.

Hernandez has made his full international debut for Mexico on September 30, 2009 against Colombia. In the lead up to the 2010 World Cup, he made a further 5 appearances for Mexico scoring 6 goals. His superb play continued into the World Cup in South Africa where he scored 2 goals in 4 appearances with well taken finishes against France and Argentina. The striker known as the "Little Pea" had made himself known to the world.

In the fall of 2010, Javier Hernandez made his debut for Manchester United in the Community Shield against Chelsea. It was a scoring debut for Hernandez once again with a goal that did not do justice for his finishing abilities as he kicked the ball off his face before it rolled into the open net. Chicharito quickly found his way into the heart of United faithful becoming a fan favorite with a number of key goals.

United's newest striker went on to score an outstanding 20 goals for the first team in 45 appearances, including 4 in the season's Champions League campaign. Javier Hernandez was the first player since Ruud van Nistelrooy to score 20 goals in a debut season for the Red Devils. Hernandez top off his outstanding first season with Manchester United by being awarded the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award by the fans.

All through his first season in England, Hernandez was drawing comparisons with a United legend. Many people compared the Mexican to Ole Gunnar Solksjaer because of his speed, strength in the air, and ability to use both his feet. Now Red Devil fans will hope that Chicharito will have his own moment similar to Solksjaer's Champions League stoppage time winner to eternally engrave him in the annals of the Manchester United, the biggest club in the World.

As a member of the Mexican 2011 Gold Cup team, Javier Hernandez is once again showing off his qualities. In just two appearances so far this tournament, the quick striker leads the tournament with 5 goals for a Mexican team that has run rampant over their opponents.

Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez has had a fantastic season that very few ever achieve for both club and country. It is hard to image that only one year ago he was only known to football fans in his home country of Mexico, but after one season he has proved himself to be a world class player. Chicharito has stated that he has debt to pay to Sir Alex Ferguson for showing faith in him. With that attitude and the work ethic that comes with it and his natural talent, Hernandez is on a path to become one of the greatest goal scorers the world has ever seen.

Importance of Home Field for TFC Progress

TFC is a team that is supposed to be rebuilding and working towards one day competing for league titles or at least playoff spots.  The problem is that of late it seems like BMO field is turning in to a relatively easy place for visiting teams to come and play. This weekends 0-0 draw against a road weary Sporting Kansas City team who have begun the season with 10 straight games on the road.  For TFC it has to be looked at as 2 lost points rather then 1 gained as they really should have been able to beat a side like Kansas at home since KC are bottom of the league.  For KC though the draw must feel nice as they were able to finally head home to their new stadium with one more point in hand and a clean sheet giving them something to build on.

There are two ways to look at this game if you are a TFC fan.  The first is that, well it is a heck of a lot better then the team being beaten 6-2 a week earlier.  The other positive that can be taken from the match is that the single point keeps Toronto FC within reach of the final automatic playoff position despite struggling through the early stages of the season.  You can also be happy with the single point when you consider the fact that the team has a fair few injuries as well as a couple of players already gone for the Gold Cup.

All of those positives are true and a draw is not the end of the world but I am inclined to look at the match from the other point of view.  The team has struggled to find goals this season with really only Maicon Santos providing a regular threat, and even he is not lighting it up be any means.  At the other end of the field TFC have struggled not to concede a lot of goals, so I guess in that light the clean sheet is nice.  For me the biggest concern is that TFC seem to have very little if any home field advantage going for them of late.  Which is worrisome because if you look at the top clubs in any league you realize that they are really strong at home and claim the majority of their points at home.  The best example of this that I can think of right now is Manchester United in the most recent Barclays Premier League season.  They did not have the most impressive of seasons overall but they only lost one game at Old Trafford as well as only drawing once.  The means that United claimed 55 points at home out of a total possible 57 points.  I am not saying that I expect TFC to get that kind of home record at any point in the near future but if you want to compete you need to have at least as good of a home record as the other top teams in the league which is a long ways off for TFC.

Toronto FC's record on the season is:
Games Played - 14
Wins - 2
Draws - 7
Losses - 5

But at home the record is:
Games Played - 9
Wins - 2
Draws - 5
Losses - 2

You might say that at least Toronto has won at home and have only lost twice which is a big improvement over their road form where they have yet to win in 5 matches and have already lost 3 times but I would counter that if you want to compete you better pick up more then 11 points in your first 9 games at home.  BMO field is no where near being the kind of fortress that a top team needs its home field to be.  Of late it seems that teams are coming there expecting that they will be able to at the very least come away with a draw and they are right to think that.  I am not saying that the fans are not doing their part to make it a tough place to play because the environment would certainly improve if the team were playing more exciting matches on the field.  The crowd does a decent job of getting into the game and encouraging the team but of late they are not being rewarded with that much to cheer about.  I do think though that the team has to get to a point where they have an attitude where they are expecting to win every time that they take to the field at BMO and when they do draw they are unhappy about it.

The team seemed pleased with a draw this weekend which in fairness was still a decent result for a side that has struggled for form and fitness in this season of rebuilding but if they are going to move forward that is an attitude that is going to need to shift.  Before TFC is ever going to become an elite team they have to develop the attitude of one and expect nothing less then a win at home and that applies even more so when they are playing a tired side like KC who are bottom of the league.

Ginger Prince turns in his crown

At 36 years old it was no surprise that Paul Scholes would call an end to his career.  It was a shame that his final match was against Barcelona and he did not get the send off from the home crowd which he deserved but in typical Scholes fashion he managed to avoid being a distraction of spending to much time in the spotlight.  His retirement came about in the same fashion as he went about playing the game.  He put his head down and gave his all to the club for nearly 2 decades without ever forcing himself into the spotlight or seeking to be at the centre of attention.  He left the team in much the same way he played for them showing that his loyalty was beyond question and that he was never happy being less then the best.

Paul Scholes was always a player who let his performances do the talking.  He was not one to seek out the spotlight but his brilliant play often resulted in him being thrust into the spotlight.  He will be remembered by United fans as one of the best players to ever patrol the midfield at Old Trafford as well as a core member of the group fondly remembered as Fergie's Fledglings.  That legendary group that has brought United so much success in the past 2 decades is now down to one as only Ryan Giggs remains.  Nicky Butt, David Beckham, and Phil Neville have all been sold while Gary Neville decided to retire back in February when he was falling off the pace in matches.  So now with Scholes moving on to a coaching role at the club it is only Giggs that remains from the group that brought United the famous treble in 1999.

Paul Scholes will be remembered for his ability to score some of the finest goals as he was able to strike the ball from range with the very best of them.  One goal that will always stick with me is his effort at Camp Nou against Barcelona back in 2008 which led to a 1-0 United win and allowed him to finally get the chance to play in the Champions League finals.  Scholes had missed out on the 1999 final so it only seemed fitting that in 2008 he would play a key role in repeating that European success.  Scholes will also be remembered for the way that he adapted his game to meet the teams needs.  When he first came to United he was an attacking player who made a name for himself scoring goals but as United had a surplus of strikers he made the shift to being an attacking midfielder where he established himself as one of the greatest midfielders of a generation.  Later in his career he would move to more of a deep lying playmaker known for being able to spread passes around the entire pitch and bring a stabilizing presence to United.

As far as where Scholes ranks in the bigger picture of things it is really hard to say.  To me he is one of the best to ever play for United and along with Giggs will be long remembered as the corner stones of one of the best midfields ever assembled.  He won the Premier League a very impressive 10 times as well as picking up 3 FA Cups, 2 Carling Cups, and the 2 Champions League titles.  The list of people who have praised Scholes seems to go on and on and includes many of the biggest names in the game.  Zidane once said that Scholes was the greatest player of his generation which is very high praise when you consider that it is coming from a man that many would argue is one of the best midfielders to play the game.  Thierry Henry also said that Paul Scholes was the best player in the premiership at a time when the league was going through one of its best phases.  For me I would say that Scholes is one of the 5 best players that I have ever had the privilege of watching along with the likes of Ronaldo, Giggs, Zidane, and now Messi.  I am not sure where he would rank on that list but it is obvious to me that Scholes is one of the best around and he will be sorely missed at United.

Not to many central midfielders can boast a scoring record like Paul Scholes'.  He scored 150 goals for United and even if his scoring has been down the past 5 years or so his void will still be very hard to fill. Sir Alex Ferguson has promised that the team will be spending this summer looking to strengthen a side that won the Premiership and went the Champions League final.  The club already seems set to sign David De Gea to replace the also retiring Edwin Van Der Sar but now they will certainly have to move to sign at least one midfielder.  No offence to Anderson, Carrick, or Fletcher but they do not possess the skill set that Scholes has and can not be the driving force in the midfield that he was.  The leading candidates to come and try to help fill the void at Luka Modric of Tottenham, Wesley Sneijder from Inter Milan, and Ashley Young from Aston Villa.  Young is much more a wide player, Sneijder more of a goal scorer but Modric would be the kind of play marker who would help to make the attack go.

To me the club needs to make a pair of signings in the midfielder.  First move to bring in either Sneijder or Modric as I think that getting both of them would be a bit unrealistic and a real stretch on the budget.  I would like to see them get Sneijder to help with the goal scoring which was already low this Premier League season and will probably be ever lower next season if Berbatov leaves the club, which is looking likely.  They the club so look to sign Young if the price is right to allow Giggs to spend more time in the central midfield and be a creative force there rather then being worn out running down the wings.  Other then that if Young can't be signed I would like to see the club go after a cheaper, domestic option to provide a measure of depth in the position.  Signing someone like Jack Rodwell or Jordan Henderson would give the club one more option and someone with a fair bit of upside still assuming they are able to thrive in the Old Trafford environment.





















Regardless of who is brought in to try and fill the void left by Scholes, which is not possible, he will be sorely missed.  His time at United was brilliant and he was a loyal servant to the club the entire time which is something that seems to be lost these days.  It is also noteworthy that Scholes will be missed as a role model to the players out there who are not your typically athletes.  Scholes was undersized, has asthma, and other issues but he never let that stop him from making it to the very top.  Just like Gary Neville he made a made for himself through nothing more then hard work and that will just be one part of his legacy to me.

Barcelona are Simply the Best

As a fan of Manchester United this is one of the tougher posts that I am going to have to write since it is my personal reaction to the Champions League final which saw Barcelona defeat Manchester United 3-1 at Wembley on the 28th.  The match was the same day as my university graduation so I was not able to catch all of it but I saw enough to make some statements about where football in Europe currently stands.

Firstly I am not one of the people who wants to crown this Barcelona team as the best side ever assembled since I never like to try and compare teams across generations because the game is constantly changing.  For me though this team will go down as one of the best in my lifetime and one of the best that I have been able to watch without having to go back into the archives.  The team that Cruyff built in 1988 is in my opinion still slightly better then this one but it is hard to argue with the success that Pep Guardiola who has won everything there is since taken over in 2008.  His side with Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and co has proven that they are the very best in Europe by winning 2 of the last 3 champions league titles as well as 3 straight La Liga titles.  They have clearly opened up a bit of a gap over free spending Spanish rivals Real Madrid as well as over Manchester United who they have now beaten out twice in the CL finals.

For fans of other clubs in Europe that have ambitions of winning the Champions League the challenge is clear.  If you want to be the very best then Barcelona are the standard by which you are going to be judged.  They have proven that if they are playing anywhere near their very best then not even the very best of any other club is going to be enough to stop them.  With Messi scoring at the rate he does and being supported by such a talented group they are a team that all you can really do is slow them down and hope that they make a costly mistake but even that is unlikely to happen.

In their four key meetings with Real Madrid this season Barca showed that they were simply the better side and even with Mourinho employing some questionable tactics to try and put them off their possession style of play they were able to win La Liga and the CL semi finals.  Real can take solace in the fact that they won the Copa but even then it took extra time and a bit of luck as they were forced to play a defensive game.  It was made clear that even the daring Jose Mourinho was not willing to come out and try to attack Barca but preferred to sit back and wait to try and hit them on a counter attack.  The approach worked 1 time out or 4 but in a one and done format like the Champions League format those are not very good odds.

For Manchester United it was clear that they learned a lot from their previous finals encounter with Barca but even all that knowledge was nothing when it came to trying to close down a clear skill gap.  Most United fans will admit that this was not a vintage side and was certainly not one that was expected to go all the way to this years finals along with winning the Premiership but once they got there you are always going to have the belief that you can win the match.  Luck was not on the side of United though and Barcelona showed that they are just that much better then United and when they are on their game not even the best effort from Sir Alex's men is going to be enough.

So the pressure is on for the Real's, United's, Chelsea's, Milan's, Inter's and anyone else out there who thinks they are Champions League contenders.  Barcelona make no secrets of how they are going to line up and who they prefer to play so now other teams are going to have to spend the money to bring in the sort of players that are capable of reaching the level that Barcelona routinely play at.  Right now United and Real seem to be the closest to reaching that level but even they still have some ways to go before they can stand toe to toe with the Catalan giants.  Sadly though the current Barcelona squad is not even all that old and will likely remain together for a fair few more years and is sure to win a few more trophies in that time so waiting for them to come back down to other teams levels seems hopeless.  There is a belief though in both Manchester and Real that they will be able to close this gap down and both sides will be hoping to get another shot at Barcelona on the biggest stage in next years Champions League.

Transfer Fun Begins

It may be only May 24th but it is clear that teams are not going to be waiting until July 1st to make an impact on the transfer market.  Today a couple of major rumours were broke in regards to United making moves and at least in the case of the first one the reports seem to be very plausible and has in fact been confirmed by Sir Alex despite an official announcement not being expected until Monday.  So it seems that David De Gea will move from Athletico Madrid who he back stopped to a Europa League title in 2010 to become United's new number 1.  The other United rumour of the day is still just that, a speculative rumour, as reports are beginning the come out that United are going to sign Aston Villa winger Ashley Young.  Most people around the game think that Young is going to move this summer but United are sure to have competition to land his signature.

In the case of David De Gea the signing is not one that comes as a surprise to the fans who have paid attention to things.  The 20 year old Keeper has long been on United's radar with the club scouting him on a number of occasions in the past.  Now with Edwin Van der Sar set to play his final match for the club on Saturday it was clear that a new keeper was going to be needed.  In his press conference today SAF stated that the club liked the athleticism, composure, and youth of De Gea and see him as being capable of playing in a similar fashion to Van der Sar with the ability to cover the entire net and make the big saves.  The capture of De Gea means that the club felt he was the best option despite having also been strongly linked with signing Manuel Neuer from Shalke and Maarten Stekelenburg from Ajax.  The price for the 20 year old keeper is expected to be just a bit under 20 million pounds which is probably similar or lower then the price tag that the other two keepers would have demanded.  For fans of Athletico the move must be a painful one as they are already dealing with the news that Sergio Aguero and Diego Forlan both intend to leave this summer.  That will leave the club in rough shape going forward and major change must be in store if they want to get back to the highest levels in Europe.   But this is a case of Athletico's loss being United's gain as De Gea will hopefully provide the club with solid goal keeping for many years to come.  Some United fans have already expressed doubt in the fact that such a young keeper can handle the pressure of playing at Old Trafford and being the number one for such a big club but I for one feel that his time at Athletico exposed him to a fair bit of pressure and he started the final of a European cup with them so his composure is not in question for me.  I fully expect him to find success where many senior keepers have failed and put his name in a line that contains Van der Sar and the Great Dane Peter Schmeichel.  For me this move is a great start to what should be a busy offseason that has not even begun yet.

The second report of the day really is far from being substantiated so far.  We all know that Ashley Young is at least a possibility to move this summer with both Chelsea, Liverpool and United being linked with the talented english winger.  If Young were to move to United he would join a group of wingers that already includes Nani, Park Ji-Sung, and Antonio Valencia.  He would provide an very good attacking option for the club similar to Nani and would allow Giggs to spend even more time in the central midfield which seems to suit him better as he has aged.  The day began with reports that Darren Bent would spend the international time with England trying to convince his team mate at Villa to stay for at least one year but as the day progressed the rumours of United signing him began to grow once more.  So if there is a race for Ashley Young then it appears that United have become the front runners at least for the moment.  It is clear that Liverpool are interested in Young as well but recently City have been rumoured to be in the running so until this deal is confirmed by the club I will hold off on getting excited about the potential of seeing him at Old Trafford.  Young is likely to cost in the area of 15 million pounds which in this day and age is not a crazy price for an England international and I think would be money well spent.

Along with the two rumours that took most of the headlines for today United are still regularly being linked with both Wesley Sneijder from Inter Milan as well as Jose Enrique from Newcastle.  Neither seems to be any where near a done deal but with with Sir Alex having promised to spend money these two potential signings may just be the start of a very busy summer.

United were not the only active team in the market today as Juventus confirmed that they had finalized a deal to sign Andrea Pirlo to a 3 year deal.  Pirlo had recently ended his 10 year stay at AC Milan which cleared the way for him to move to another club which was quickly speculated to be Juve.  This signing should provide a solid boost in the centre of the park for a team that has struggled of late and were disappointed to finish this season outside of European qualifying positions.  Being 32 years of age many are questioning the choice to sign Pirlo to a 3 year deal but for Juventus I am sure that they were willing to do what ever it takes to ensure that he would be playing for them for the good years that he has remaining.  Today Milan also agreed to a deal that would see them buy out the remained for the rights to Kevin-Prince Boateng from Genoa.  Boateng was bought by Genoa from Portsmouth this past summer when the club was forced to sell most of its players but he ended up at the San Siro instead as the clubs worked out an agreement which saw AC Milan become part owners.  Milan will now buy out the second half of his contract which will ensure that at least his immediate future is going to be with AC Milan.


















It is clear that despite the transfer window being a long ways away from opening the end of league seasons has ensured that the activity has already kicked off.  The rumours will now begin to swirl in earnest and it is likely that the De Gea transfer will not be the only big money deal to be confirmed in the coming weeks leading up to July 1st.

Reminders of 1992

This weekend Manchester United took home the FA Youth Cup trophy for the first time since 2003.  The win was the tenth time that United have claimed the trophy and has brought back memories of the 1992 title winning side that is often referred to as "Fergie's Fledglings".  Comparing this years team to the one from 1992 might be to much of a stretch at this point in time but any United fan will be hoping that this side ends of having the same kind of success as the members of that team had.  It also brought back memories of when the trophy was first introduced when the likes of Duncan Edwards and George Best won the first five editions before going on to be stars at Manchester.

The fact is that most years to majority of the players on the team that lifts the FA youth trophy are not going to go on to be stars at the next level.  There are of course some exceptions to this with some of England's biggest names having won the prize including Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen, Joe Cole, Theo Walcott, and recently Garreth Bale.  Despite that no single team can compare to the side that won in 1991-1992.  That squad defeated Crystal Palace 6-3 in the final but is mainly remembered for what they would go on to do as they became the foundation for the success which United has enjoyed since then.  The 1992 team contained seven players who would go on to earn international caps and to this day they continue to shape Manchester United.  The seven members of the team that went on to become internationals were David Beckham, Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt, Robbie Savage, Keith Gillespie, and Simon Davies (who did only get the one cap for Wales).  With Ryan Giggs almost certain to play on for at least one more season he will continue to be a link back to the fledglings.  The retirement of Gary Neville this winter meant that Giggs was the last man standing for the squad as all of the others have moved on or retired from professional football.  The 1992 final may have come to early for the likes of Paul Scholes and Phil Neville who would later play in the competition and join the others at the highest level in club football.  The other members of the title winning side all struggled to break in to the first team for United with most of them eventually moving on to lower league sides but there is no question that this team had a major impact on football at the highest level and United in particular.

This years team had many talented names but it would amaze most fans if they were able to reach the kinds of levels that the fledglings did.  Their 4-1 win at Old Trafford was an impressive victory to say the least and it gave them a 6-3 win on aggregate which is a familiar score line to those who know their history.  I do not expect anyone from this side to be the next Ryan Giggs or George Best but I do think that several of them have what it takes to make some impact at the top level.

Ravel Morrison:
He is almost certainly the most talented player of the whole bunch.  He scored a pair of goals in the second leg and at only 18 years of age the midfielder has shown that he has the skills to make it at United.  He was even handed his debut with the senior team this year when he made a sub appearance against Wolves in the League Cup.  As a local boy from Manchester he is quickly becoming a fan favourite despite having some personal issues.  If the off field stuff does not ruin his career it is likely that he talent will be able to take him as far as he wants to go.  He is one to watch starting as soon as next season when he will likely be included in a few more first team games assuming that he is not sent out on loan.

Will and Michael Keane:
The twins follow a tradition of family at United.  They will be looking to follow the same path as the Neville brothers and the Da Silva twins by eventually playing together for the senior team but for now they are enjoying playing together at Carrington where they have impressed.  Will scored a pair of goals in the final and has many considering him as being the best forward that United have in the youth system.  With the senior team having a strong selection of strikers in the form of Rooney, Hernandez, Berbatov, and Welbeck who is likely to stay at the club next season Will is not going to be rushed along and should have time to develop.  His favourable comparisons to Ole Gunnar Solksjaer and Teddy Sherringham show how highly he is thought of around the club as he just has a knack for popping up and scoring goals.  Michael is a defender and his progress has been a bit less spectacular and has been instead about making steady progress.  The twins are now 18 and will almost certainly both be given a shot to break in to the first team in the coming years.

Paul Pogba:
Yet another 18 year old from the team Pogba is a talent that a lot of United fans are excited about.  He can play all over the central midfield and his solid play in the position has led to many to compare him to some of the great french midfielders like Patrick Vierra and Abou Diaby.  He has also shown that he is capable of scoring some spectacular goals as he can strike the ball from long range as well as almost any one at the pro level let alone a youth team player.  United worked very hard to sign him out of France and they clearly have high hopes for him.  The central midfield is probably one of the clubs weaker areas with Paul Scholes nearing the end of his career so Pogba is going to get a real chance to make it at the club sometime soon.  Would not be surprised to see him feature in the Carling cup at some point next year.

There are a few other players in the team that might just make it into the first team one day but these four are the ones that I think have the best chance of sticking at that level.  A lot of United fans are excited about the talent coming through the ranks and that is why the memories/comparisons to the 1992 team are not quite as far fetched as they might seem at first.

Whose on the Move

With the summer transfer window approaching, it is time to take a look at some of the players who will be on the move at some point this off season. A number of highly rated youngsters appear to be on the move this summer with the possibility of other big money moves.

Eden Hazard

Its only a matter of time before the young Belgian star leaves France and Lille for a bigger club and league. Inter Milan and Arsenal are currently rumored to be interested in the 20 year old midfielder who scored 7 goals in 35 appearances this season. Lille are not a big enough club to be able to hold onto their starlet once the bigger clubs start making their advances but the club hopes that guaranteed first team appearances in the Champions League for the potential French champions next season will keep Hazard in the fold for at least one more season.

Alexis Sanchez

The fast Chilean winger has been in superb form for Italian side Udinese this season finding the net on 12 occasions which has made him one of the most desired players in Europe this summer. Manchester City have reportedly already opened talks with Udinese and a deal seems close to being complete. Manchester City’s cross town rivals, Manchester United have long had their eye on the Chilean international. Manager Sir Alex Ferguson has reportedly had his eye on Sanchez since he was a youngster, even before his move to Italy. But with United likely to make a move for Aston Villa winger Ashley Young, a move for Sanchez does not seem to be on the books. Interested in Sanchez has increased recently with Inter Milan captain Javier Zanetti throwing his club’s name into the race by urging the club to sign the young winger. Chelsea has also been rumored in the winger and with this much interest in Sanchez it is unlikely Udinese will be able to hold on to him.

Erik Lamela

River Plate’s highly rated Argentine midfielder has long been the subject of transfer rumors starting when he was 12 years old when River rejected Barcelona’s 300,000 Euro offer for the too “young to be called a youngster” player. Lamela is no longer a child and now at 19 he is once again drawing the attention of European giants. Lamela has become a key player for River Plate in recent years and the club has reportedly sold the player to a group of business men for 14 million Euros, who will sell the player once more in June. Juventus seem favored to secure Lamela’s signature this summer, but the Argentine wonderkid will end up somewhere in Europe this summer.

Paulo Henrique (Ganso)

Ganso is a member of Brazil’s current crop of wonderkids and the Santos midfielder is the prize of a reported battle between the Milan sides. The future Brazilian star has said that he will be signing for either Inter or AC with a move for the 21 year old playmaker likely to take place this summer.

Neymar

Neymar is another member of Brazil’s budding youth system and is Ganso’s teammate at Santos. The flashy striker, who has been compared to Brazilian great Pele, is unlikely to stay in Brazil much longer. Chelsea tried to sign the youngster last summer, but Neymar rejected their offer in order to continue to grow in Brazil. He recently signed a new contract with Santos that contains a 45 million Euro release clause and it is unlikely that Santos will except anything less for their star.

Michel Bastos

Yet another Brazilian that could be on the move, but this one his already in Europe. Bastos, a winger at Olympique Lyonnais, is in the crosshairs of rebuilding Italian giant Juventus but it appears that negotiations between the two clubs of the player’s future have stalled. Bastos has said that he is looking for a new challenge away from Lyons but has ruled out England and Germany leaving a move to Spain or Italy as his options.

Other Transfers to Look Forward To

With Edwin Van de Sar retiring in a couple of weeks, Manchester United is need of a new starting keeper to replace the Dutchman. David De Gea, Athletico Madrids young keeper, is a name often brought up in discussions. Schalke’s Manuel Neuer was considered an option before completing a reported deal with Bayern Munich leaving names like Ajax’s Stekelenburg and Olympique Lyonnais’s Lloris on the list of possible replacements at Old Trafford.

Manchester United have also been reportedly working out a deal for Aston Villa’s English international Ashley Young. Young would add to an already fantastic group of wingers with Nani and Antonio Valencia.

Interest in Porto’s Brazilian striker Hulk is rumored to be high with the likes of Manchester City and AC Milan pursuing his signature. It is unlikely that Porto will allow their talisman to leave after recently signing him to a new contract.

Kaka is also rumored to be leaving Real Madrid with a number of clubs in England supposedly interested in the former Ballon D’or recipient. Kaka has recently stated his desire to remain at Real Madrid and reclaim a spot in the line up following comments made by his mother about them moving to London for next season.