Manchester United's Tom Cleverley gives glimpses of his special touch
Midfielder's comeback is perfectly timed for the business end of the season and makes a great alternative to Paul Scholes
England can forget about Paul Scholes, as Sir Alex Ferguson made plain with undisguised Scottish disdain before Manchester United's entry into the strange land of the Europa League, but it will not be long before they call for another precision midfielder who has reappeared at an opportune moment in the champions' season. Tom Cleverley was eased back against Ajax and even in a low-key return he showed why he has attracted more tributes than appearances for United.
The first-leg meeting with Frank de Boer's pragmatic Ajax will not register in the annals at Old Trafford other than for the night Cleverely made his European debut for the club at the age of 22. For a United player of such promise it has been a long time coming, a reflection of the level Ferguson's teams had been operating at in Europe prior to this season but also the injury problems that have curtailed Cleverley's progress and saw him given only 60 minutes against the Dutch club.
This was only the midfielder's eighth appearance in a United shirt in a season that was interrupted for six weeks after a foot injury sustained in a challenge with Kevin Davies at Bolton and then, two matches into his comeback, another four months after suffering ankle ligament damage at Everton. His previous seven outings had also resulted in a United victory, notably that 8-2 destruction of Arsenal and his display against Manchester City in the Community Shield when, for the undoubted promise on show, predictions of the new Scholes or the cheaper alternative to Wesley Sneijder always seemed a little premature.
The game reflected the status of European football's long, winding and overblown second competition rather than that of the two opponents but there were occasional glimpses from Cleverely of the energy and accuracy he brings to the United midfield. A direct confrontation with Ajax's coveted young Dane, Christian Eriksen, a player linked with Old Trafford, offered the glimpse of a potential midfield of the future. That never materialised as caution consumed the two sides.
Twice Cleverley demonstrated vision worthy of Scholes. In the first half he demanded a ball inside from Michael Carrick and instantly swept a superb pass for Wayne Rooney in space down the right. In the second, as Ajax cleared a United free-kick, he picked out Javier Hernández inside a crowded penalty area with a precise volley. Both opportunities were squandered by United and it did not help Cleverley to find so many of his outlets – Nani, Hernández and Ashley Young, irrespective of their goals – enduring nights when a good first touch was often beyond them.
United's young players require European experience as the team's feeble exit from the Champions League in Basel, and the analysis from Roy Keane that so irked Ferguson, underlined. Injury absolved Cleverley from any culpability for the Champions League campaign and here he showed the pace and movement to support the United attack as Scholes once did but no one could in their absence in Switzerland.
To the United manager, who recently salivated at the prospect of his midfield being improved by two players at opposite ends of the age scale, Cleverely's comeback is perfectly timed for the business end of the season and allows him an alternative to playing Scholes for 90 minutes, regardless of how exemplary those 90 minutes were against Liverpool on Saturday. "It will be great to get the boy back because I think he's special," said Ferguson as Cleverley completed his latest rehabilitation. "He will be desperate to play with Scholes. We have a great collection of midfield players."
The master replaced the apprentice in Amsterdam and the expectation upon Cleverley is immense. As Eric Harrison, the former United youth coach synonymous with the best of the club's production line, said: "Tom for me is, without question, so good that he is the best young player at United since Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and David Beckham came on to the scene."
