He's a Red, his first name is Ryan and he's signed on loan for six months...OK, so the signing of Ryan Giggs may have to wait for a year or two, but there was still plenty of intrigue surrounding the eve-of-season arrival of teenage defender Ryan Shawcross.
Tony Pulis, a manager reputedly wary of youngsters, not only signed a 19-year-old centre-half, but raised a few eyebrows by throwing him straight into the mix for yesterday's opener at Cardiff.
Brave by anyone's standards, but positively suicidal by his?
In truth, he had few other options after Clint Hill cried off injured, but it was still an almighty gamble on a player with only two senior appearances to his name.
The 19-year-old Welshman arrived with a big reputation and an even bigger frame, at six foot four inches, after working his way through the renowned youth system at Old Trafford.
Countless clubs are hovering around the fringes of United, Liverpool, Chelsea et al at this time of year to gather youngsters deemed surplus to requirements. Southampton, Norwich and Crystal Palace were known to be tracking Shawcross, but Stoke had a few aces up their sleeve to beat off the competition.
"I thought Stoke was the best option," said Shawcross.
"It's a big club, a good stadium and when I came down to speak to Tony Pulis he sold it to me straight away.
"I think I decided I wanted to come here after an hour and without going to the other clubs. Other clubs had phoned me, but as soon as I knew Stoke were interested, I wanted to come here.
"I spoke to Lee Martin (last season's loanee from United) and he said how good a club it was. He told me there was a good bunch of lads here that I'd get on well with and he said Tony Pulis likes working with defenders.
"Some of the other clubs are quite a long way away as well," conceded Shawcross, "so Stoke was also the best option in terms of my mum and dad travelling to watch me play."
Sir Alex Ferguson's decision to only grant Shawcross an initial six-month stay - just in case injuries bite hard at United this season - is a measure of how close the youngster is to the first-team picture at Old Trafford.
But with only two senior appearances to his name, followed by a spell on loan to Royal Antwerp, the time was considered right to blood the giant defender at a more competitive level of the game.
"I'm really looking forward to my stay at Stoke," he added.
"Coming back from Antwerp, I was hoping to go out to a Championship team. It should be a good experience. I am good in the air, a good defender and I can pass the ball out."
Shawcross, who played in the United team beaten by Stoke in the FA Youth Cup two seasons ago, will be 'mothered' by a player knowing all about his background and education after progressing through the same system himself a decade ago.
"Danny Higginbotham also went out on loan to Antwerp when he was at United," said Shawcross, "so we've had the same experience in many ways.
"He's obviously a lot more experienced now, though, and I'm looking forward to him helping me through games. I'm sure I will learn a lot off him."
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