Fletcher hails Powell as future Man Utd star
Thursday 22 November 2012
Darren Fletcher has backed his young Manchester United teammate Nick Powell to make a huge success of his career, both at Old Trafford and beyond.
18-year-old Powell was signed by Sir Alex Ferguson in the summer following an impressive breakthrough campaign for Crewe Alexandra, culminating in his goal in Alex’s victorious League 2 play-off final.
Since then, Powell has only made fleeting appearances for the first team but has already scored a Premier League goal for the club against Wigan Athletic, and also became the second youngest Englishman in the club’s history to play in the Champions League.
However, according to the Manchester Evening News, Fletcher believes that Powell’s background at Crewe will ensure he does not get carried away with initial success in the big time.
“Playing in the lower leagues as a teenager will have hardened him up,” said the Scotland captain.
“In some ways it is a better grounding because you get toughened up. You play with and against good experienced pros in the lower leagues, players who are going to kick you. You have to learn how to survive.”
However, Fletcher was keen to move away from comparisons to Paul Scholes for the young midfielder.
“Nick is coming on leaps and bounds,” he said. “When a player comes from Crewe you don’t really know what to expect but his touch, awareness, ability and eye for a goal is great. I am not saying he is another Scholesy because he is the best player I have ever played with.
“Let’s just hope he can concentrate on being Nick Powell because I am sure he will be a great player for Manchester United.”
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