Manchester United came from behind to beat Manchester City yesterday in the Community Shield 3-2 and while the usual suspects all played their part – Nani, Wayne Rooney, Patrice Evra and new boy Ashley Young – all Premier League veterans, the performances of Anderson and Cleverley in central midfield really caught my eye.
Anderson has been at Manchester United since 2007 and now, at just 23 years old, seems to be maturing into the player Sir Alex Ferguson always hoped he would become. And what perfect timing for the Red Devils with Paul Scholes retired, Ryan Giggs aging, and Darren Fletcher far from full fitness.
At just 6.0M in the Official PL Fantasy game, Anderson won’t be a too attractive bargain if he doesn’t improve his goalscoring and assist totals, but in ‘real life’ he could be the Essien-esque midfield engine United need to challenge for another title.
And now on to Tom Cleverley – who was just called up to the England squad this morning. The 21-year-old was very impressive on loan at Wigan last season and even more impressive in United’s win yesterday over Manchester City – coming on as a second half substitute. Cleverley scored 4 goals in just 1,600 minutes played at Wigan - and all signs point to a 5+ goal and 5+ assist season at Manchester United if he can see around 2,000 Premier League minutes this season. That would certainly be a very competitive fantasy return for a player priced at just 5.5M.
Of course Cleverley must compete with the likes of Carrick, Giggs, Fletcher and others (maybe even Ashley Young – if both Valencia and Nani are used on the wings) for playing time – and perhaps Wesley Sneijder too – if his transfer goes through, but at this point he must surely be in the running for United’s #1 choice for the CM slot – and at 5.5M could be the bargain of the Fantasy Premier League season.
The youth movement at Old Trafford is pretty impressive. Jones, Smalling, the Da Silva twins, Welbeck, and others – all young, all looking to establish themselves alongside Rooney, Berbatov, Ferdinand and Vidic.
So there you have it – breakout seasons coming for Anderson and Cleverley this year. So who needs Sneijder?
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