With all the talk of prospective signings and the potential problem areas in the team it would be easy to overlook the obvious talent we already have.
Whilst there is no obvious person to step into the role of creative midfielder that we have all been crying out for, those calling for back up for Wayne Rooney seem to forget the wealth of strikers we already have.
Dimitar Berbatov, Michael Owen, Mame Biram Diouf and Danny Welbeck may be able to do the job whilst in coming striker Javier Hernandez looked promising at the World Cup and will be expected to build on that but the player I think (OK hope) shines this season is Kiko Macheda.
The young Italian began to to chisel his name into the tablet that is Man United history with his epic last minute goal against Aston Villa and the following week grabbed what would be the winner against Sunderland. He was expected to build on his showings the following season but after some early appearances, injury hampered his progress and he made his first Premier League performance in March. In April trailing Chelsea, Macheda almost made himself a hero again when he scored a late goal against Chelsea and had United gone on to win or even draw that game, in the absence of Wayne Rooney, Macheda would have taken much of the plaudits.
Sir Alex has realised what he has on his hands and last summer said,
“Macheda is top drawer, a hero in the making, just as Cristiano was. It is hard to believe he is just 17. We probably need to check his birth certificate because I reckon he is at least 28.”
High praise from the gaffer and just yesterday Macheda’s agent Giovanni Ba claimed that Sir Alex declared the young Italian is ‘unsellable’. Speaking whilst on the tour of North America Sir Alex said,
“So we’ve a fine collection of young players who if you don’t give them an opportunity they’re going to stagnate and move to other clubs who’ll get the benefit of the work we’ve done with them.”
There are few youngsters in the team finer than Macheda so why can’t this season be his breakout season?
Of course at just 18 there may not be a huge number of chances for him but with the experience he has picked up steadily over the last two seasons you can see the gradual improvement in his play. A return of 3 goals in 15 appearances (only 8 of them being starts) isn’t poor for a player of his age and with the likes of Rooney, Owen, Berbatov and more importantly Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, his reserve manager, to learn from he will improve as a player and thus increase his goal return.
Macheda is a player brimming with confidence, a very important component in his rising stock. If we look at him lets say in comparison to Welbeck I think it’s quite easy to see that it is Macheda who plays with a greater air of arrogance and belief which is great to see for someone of his age.
As I said he may not find many chances coming his way but he looks like if he is entrusted with a bigger role in the first team this coming season he would just take it in his stride.
I agree with this article 100%, we need to give him a fair run this season. He has a very confident look to his game and I for one say let the horse run let’s see what he can do. I watched the game against Celtic last night and can’t understand why Diouf started over Macheda but the gaffer knows best maybe Macheda will get his chance in the next few Tour matches or better yet in the season. Diouf did well but I think Macheda has earned his chance. Berba really impressed me but he has got to stop barking at the players when they don’t get him the ball, let me know if I’m wrong but if you watched the game did you notice how well Berba did as a set up man, is it possible he could be made into the creative attacking midfielder we have been looking for?
Im happy to hear that Patrick.
Berbatov looked good and you won’t be the first that will have said he should play in a more subdued role and perhaps he could fill in the creative role. Just question the passing aspect of the role though