Davide Petrucci

[Clique]

I would think the staff would prefer keeping a close eye on him for another 6 months or a season.. Probably a loan in January? If he proves he is too good for the reserves before then (which I am suspecting he will)

His play has always been top notch and when we bought him he was supposedly close to the first team at Roma. Even after his injury, looking at the longer highlights (Thanks girigay), he still seems to possess that bit of magic about him. If he proves his fitness in the first few months of the new season or even during the summer and in the pre season, this kid could occupy the subs bench and actually share minutes on the pitch.

I have high hopes for this kid and i make no effort to hide me being a fanboi of his. His cross field passes, his vision, his ability to get goals all remind me of a ginger lad who just retired a few days ago.

I am however disappointed in the lack of enthusiasm about our youngsters on this board. No one seems to care, they'd rather bring a sneidjer or a modric than see one of these guys progress through the ranks and take the world by storm.

If either datura or mr.Mujac or PS18 could come on board and give a detailed version of where we can expect him to be next season, i'd be pretty glad.

 

[Ubik]

People wanting a Sneijder or a Modric is fair enough because our prospective midfield talents haven't played more than a minute of first team football between them, so can't really be expected to fill the boots of Paul Scholes right now. I'd love to see a few of them given game time next season, though, to really gauge what they're capable of.

 

[SmashedHombre]

I would rather Petrucci make it than us buying a Modric or whoever. I think everyone would. But people are possibly losing faith in the youngsters after seeing so many who excel at youth and reserve level not even come close to making the grade in the first team. I sort of hope we don't buy someone in all onesty, as it would show a lot of faith in some of younger players.

Got to say though I have really high hopes for this kid. His injury was devestating, as I feel sure he would be looking at first team opportunities early on next season, which would have been perfect timing all round.

 

[datura]

I'm not quite sure where he's at at the moment. Hopefully he stays injury free and has a good preseason. He looks a stronger player since he's come back and more aggressive in the tackle, so potentially he could turn into a central midfielder. It's a very competitive position though and I have a few doubts about his pace/mobility since he returned.

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

He will only become a CM if he has the positional awareness required.

 

[datura]

He will only become a CM if he has the positional awareness required.

He's an intelligent player and reads the game well. That's not an issue.

 

[Widnes]

Juventus want to take two of Manchester United's brightest prospects off their hands.

Davide Petrucci and Paul Pogba caught the eye of Juve GM Beppe Marotta and he is keen to bring them to Turin.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is expected to give Marotta short shrift.

Marotta scouted Pogba in a visit to Old Trafford for the FA Youth Cup final against Sheffield United.

Juventus chasing Man Utd pair Petrucci, Pogba | Premiership News | tribalfootball.com

Is there a United player Juve haven't been linked to now? know this is bull shit but thought I would post it anyway not seen anything about it in the transfer forum either.

 

[Clique]

Few doubts about his pace...

Is he that slow datura?... Unless midfielders carry the ball, pace shouldn't be a great problem should it?

 

[datura]

Is he that slow datura?... Unless midfielders carry the ball, pace shouldn't be a great problem should it?

He's just appeared a little sluggish at times for me, a bit slow off the mark. It's hard to make any real meaningful observations as he's making his way back from so long out.

 

[Clique]

He's just appeared a little sluggish at times for me, a bit slow off the mark. It's hard to make any real meaningful observations as he's making his way back from so long out.

Pre season should answer that question for us wouldn't it. It'll be a travesty if he doesn't make it here. He possesses so much in his bag!. Agree?

 

[Elliott]

Pre season should answer that question for us wouldn't it. It'll be a travesty if he doesn't make it here. He possesses so much in his bag!.Agree?

He certainly did before he was out for the better part of two years, it remains to be seen if it's all still there. He's been a mixed bag since his return, which obviously was to be expected, and next season is make or break for him.

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

He's an intelligent player and reads the game well. That's not an issue.

Then pace wont matter at all. When a player has bite, touch and awareness, they can get away with being as slow as Riquelme or Pirlo in center midfield.

 

[samabachan]

Pre season should answer that question for us wouldn't it. It'll be a travesty if he doesn't make it here. He possesses so much in his bag!. Agree?

He has some nice talent on the ball but he's not exactly Fabregas levels of prodigiousness

 

[Elliott]

Neither were Scholes or Zizou or indeed just about every top player. But he was rumored to be close to the Roma first team when we bought him at 16, so who knows where he would be now if it wasn't for his injury.

 

[samabachan]

True, but I think the sentence 'It'll be a travesty if he doesn't make it here is both misled and overly optimistic. He's a good player with some nice abilities on the ball, but better players than him have failed to get into the first team here. Equally, 'worse' players have made the step up successfully

 

[carpy]

Then pace wont matter at all. When a player has bite, touch and awareness, they can get away with being as slow as Riquelme or Pirlo in center midfield.

It's not just his pace that might be a problem though. He hasn't looked particularly nimble since his comeback either and that is a problem for a central midfielder.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

The injury was such a fecking shame. That length of time out at such a young age can have lasting consequences, in terms of physical development.

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

It's not just his pace that might be a problem though. He hasn't looked particularly nimble since his comeback either and that is a problem for a central midfielder.

TBF that is probably down to being out for ages. Lets see how he fairs after the next pre season training.

 

[Mr. MUJAC]

He's just appeared a little sluggish at times for me, a bit slow off the mark. It's hard to make any real meaningful observations as he's making his way back from so long out.

He has only started four games in two years...give him time!

 

[datura]

He has only started four games in two years...give him time!

Did you miss the qualifier at the end of the post you quoted?

 

[CLK_FPC]

He has been getting back into the swing of things looked neat against West Ham reserves and the little cameo with Pogba against Sunderland was brilliant and almost swung the game in our favour.

Will take time to get back into the swing of things but not looking too bad at the mo

 

[Striker10]

The kids just glad to be back playing. If he can keep his fitness, he might get rewards with some carling cup appearences. The competition within the squad is so strong right now but talent doesn't leave you. If he can have a good pre season who knows where it will take him. I'm sure fletcher has has a word, or i'd hope so since they both missed a great deal of their early career to injury etc

 

[Mr. MUJAC]

Did you miss the qualifier at the end of the post you quoted?

No....the qualifier makes the original point seem unneccessary!

For example....."he looks a bit slow but he's just recovering from knee surgery"

Why make such a comment in the first place?

;-)

 

[datura]

No....the qualifier makes the original point seem unneccessary!

For example....."he looks a bit slow but he's just recovering from knee surgery"

Why make such a comment in the first place?

;-)

Some people come back looking as good as ever from serious injuries - see Valencia. If anything I was trying to temper expectations, and with his injuries you tend to look far closer at his mobility in particular.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

A teenager who suffers a prolonged muscular injury like that, while they're still growing, can have all sorts of long-term issues in terms of their mobility and general athleticism. So it's quite possible he may lose a yard of pace that takes years to get back.

That said, four games is nothing. It will probably take dozens to get him back to anything like his baseline.

 

[datura]

A teenager who suffers a prolonged muscular injury like that, while they're still growing, can have all sorts of long-term issues in terms of their mobility and general athleticism. So it's quite possible he may lose a yard of pace that takes years to get back.

That said, four games is nothing. It will probably take dozens to get him back to anything like his baseline.

Four starts, quite a few substitute appearances for c30 mins a time.

They seemed to be very careful in the way they managed his return which I'm sure will only benefit him in the long term.

 

[Name Changed]

For those who watch the reserves regularly, how has his progress been? Has he shown any of the promise that made him look like a serious prospect previously? Any chance of being involved with the first team this season?

 

[TheReligion]

He seems to have fallen by the wayside of late

 

[Pogue Mahone]

By all accounts, he's had a cracking start to the season.

Haven't watched him yet myself but he's been getting rave reviews in assorted threads in here. Was always going to take ages to get back on track after so long out of the game but encouraging signs he's heading in the right direction.

 

[noodlehair]

I've only seen the two reserve games this season and both were a bit strange.

We had Fletcher and Gibson lumbering about doing feck all whilst being shown up by Pogba and a bunch of Arsenal kids, and then the game against Swansea where we may as well have just played our reserves against a bunch of kids down the local park.

 

[Fiskey]

I've only seen the two reserve games this season and both were a bit strange.

We had Fletcher and Gibson lumbering about doing feck all whilst being shown up by Pogba and a bunch of Arsenal kids, and then the game against Swansea where we may as well have just played our reserves against a bunch of kids down the local park.

I think this is an example of people judging 1st team player and youth team players very differently. Gibson was a bit disappointing yes but Fletcher did everything you could have expected of him in the games he's played.

 

[Name Changed]

By all accounts, he's had a cracking start to the season.

Haven't watched him yet myself but he's been getting rave reviews in assorted threads in here. Was always going to take ages to get back on track after so long out of the game but encouraging signs he's heading in the right direction.

This is the answer I'll choose to believe. At least it's a positive one!

 

[PS18]

Wouldn't say he's had a cracking start - was inconsistent for most of pre-season, a little off the pace (obviously that's the case with everyone in pre-season, but more than most), but started to look better towards the end of the run of friendlies and in the early couple of league games. Going to have to be patient with him after he's missed so much football - the talent is clearly still there.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Thanks for the clarification. Was probably getting carried away by some positive comments in the first couple of league games. Great to hear there's signs of progression though.

 

[Ole90+3]

With all this talk of Pogba and Morrison, it got me think of this lad. Real shame for him to be out of football for so long with that bad injury. He was meant to be the top young prospect in the world when we signed him. Here's to hoping he can make a full recovery to football.

 

[Name Changed]

A couple of years ago in the reserves/youths, he looked comfortably our best player in numerous games that I saw him in. That's why I personally had so much hope in him breaking through. Obviously injury curtailed him drastically but his potential must still be there somewhere.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Shocked to hear he's 20 years old when I was watching the reserves last night. Seems like he's barely played at all since we signed him as a 16 year old. He was signed the same week as Arsenal signed Ramsey and was only a year younger at the time. Such a shame his development has been so messed around by injuries.

 

[KM]

How did he performed yesterday. Mr.Mujac was raving about him on twitter.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

I didn't really notice him much tbh. It was a dour game, though, I struggled to pay attention.

 

[moses]

He was poor in a dour game. He wasn't at all up for matching Bolton's tempo and appeared, as a result, slow and unfit, especially in the second half. His touch wasn't good enough to cover the lack of application or lack of relish for a scrap. The game was a hard one for a touch player, but Pogba never stopped trying.