Date: 29th December 2009 at 1:26pm
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Although his reserve midfield partner Tom Cleverly may be snatching the headlines with his performances for Watford, do not over look the abilities of Danny Drinkwater.

The Manchester born midfielder has been at the club since he was 10 and has risen through the academy but really blossomed when he reached ’s reserve team in the 2007/2008 season. He began the term playing for Paul McGuinness’ academy team but when he moved up to the reserves he didn’t fail to disappoint striking up a fruitful partnership with Tom Cleverly in the middle of the park.

He further built his reputation with a late winner against Liverpool in the final of the Lancashire Senior Cup after coming on as a sub after half time and also helped the club retain the cup the year later. His performances throughout the season saw him earn a place in United’s first team for the the final game of the season against Hull, although he did not make it off the bench.

His reserve performances caught the eye of a number of clubs and at the start of this season, he was taken on loan by League 1 outfit Town in order to get some much needed first team experience. Manager Lee Clark is a fan of his and stated at the time of his signing,

“Danny is a player we have tracked for a long time, I’m very happy that we have struck a deal.”

Drinkwater has had mixed fortunes this season after getting off to a good start this season popping up with assists and the odd goal but he has fallen out of favour partly due to injury and now finds himself as a sub at the Galpharm stadium.

Drinkwater is comfortable with either foot and has already displayed excellent passing and vision, leading some United fans to prematurely compare him to but only time will if he can ascend to such heights. As well as this he is tough in the tackle and is extremely versatile being able to play across the midfield.

Despite being just 19, Drinkwater has been capped at u21 level as well as u18 and u19 but don’t expect to see him in the full squad for a while. He has a long way to go in terms of experience and hopefully he can regain his place in the starting lineup to get more games under his belt.

United have many talented players coming through their ranks and like the rest, it will take hard work and a bit of luck for Drinkwater to make it at Old Trafford.

 

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