Having been included in last week’s Carling Cup squad against Wolves yet not making it on to the pitch, young midfielder Magnus Eikrem has been handed a massive chance to finally make his United debut ahead of tomorrow’s Champions League tie with Turkey’s Bursaspor.
Eikrem is one of 4 central midfielder travelling to Turkey and it is said he even got to the airport to check in before Sir Alex, so you can see his enthusiasm! Even if he doesn’t play, just travelling will be a great experience for the 20 year old.
Notable absentees from the travelling party include Rio Ferdinand and Jonny Evans meaning Smalling is in line to start another European tie. No Macheda plus injuries to Owen and Rooney means Hernandez and Berbatov are the only strikers in the party.
United’s travelling squad to face Bursaspor: Van der Sar, Amos, Kuszczak; Evra, Brown, Vidic, Smalling, Rafael, Fabio, O’Shea; Eikrem, Scholes, Obertan, Bebe, Fletcher, Carrick, Park, Nani; Berbatov, Hernandez.
Would be brilliant if he could get his official debut tomorrow, even though I think we will need to have a secure lead if he is to get a chance. Has been looking great with the reserves for a long time, and I think he should be given a runout soon both to bolster his motivation and to give him a chance to prove himself.
a great chance for the boy.. i hope he gets the chance to show what he can do on one of the biggest stages..
on a side note.. any1 know why Macheda didnt make the team? injury i presume but what kind?? thanks 🙂
Federico Macheda, Anderson, Darron Gibson and Jonny Evans all have viruses.
SAF has already said he would start an experienced side to try and clinch a spot for the next round. I could only see him coming on for the last 20 minutes if we were up at least 2 goals…but if so, that would be positive all on all fronts!
A Berbatov/Hernandez pairing would be interesting and hopefully they can build a greater understanding with each other. Their attributes seem complimentary, but we’ll see if it can be achieved on the pitch.
Hell of a place to make your debut..But the lack of midfielders and the fact that he is missing a reserve game really points to some time on the field..Iam hoping that we are up by atleast 2 at 60 min so that he can finally make that long awaited debut..
@chudi
you checked on dzsudzsak yet..
Yeah, I saw your comment last time didn’t get round to replying. caught highlights against Feynoord and he scored on the day we initially started discussing him.
He is actually a good shout. I feel he may not be a big enough name for some fans but he looks quality to me. Going to keep watching him though don’t want to make to hasty an appraisal!
He’s scored 3 and assisted 3(in the last 2 games) since the time we had that chat..His set piece delivery is pretty special..Glad that you are watching..
I really hope he gets a chance to shine, he seems to have something special.