Sunderland and Newcastle do battle for Manchester United striker
Published:Frederico Macheda is the forgotten man at Old Trafford and it seems he will need to follow Danny Welbeck’s example if he is to break into the first team.
Having spent the final six months of last season on loan at Sampdoria, Macheda was hoping to break into the first team this season but has found Welbeck ahead of him in the pecking order.
Sir Alex Ferguson has decided to give his young stars a go at the start of this season, and while the likes of Phil Jones, Tom Cleverley and Welbeck have all played instrumental roles in the early stages, Macheda is yet to feature.
The Italian is nine months younger than Welbeck and still has plenty of time to prove his worth to Manchester United, but it seems Ferguson wants to see Macheda excel elsewhere before giving him a first team run.
Both Sunderland and Newcastle United are hoping to sign Macheda on a season-long loan, and considering the influx of players that have arrived at Sunderland, the Mackems may be leading the chase.
However Macheda’s agent suggests Newcastle are leading the chase for the striker and told Italian website calciomercato.com: “Macheda doesn’t return to Italy, Manchester United will send him on loan in the Premier League.”
“At this time Newcastle has the edge over Queens Park Rangers.”
Demba Ba is yet to fire for Newcastle having joined this summer and with Shola Ameobi as Newcastle’s next best, the Toon are in need of strikers.
At Sunderland Connor Wickham may have been brought in but he looks a player for the future rather than for the present and Sunderland’s return of one goal in four games is not helping their push for a European spot.
Macheda’s 16 appearances for Sampdoria last season brought just one goal and the 20-year-old will have to improve his goalscoring if he is to impress any potential managers and his current manager.
Welbeck proved that a strong run in a side can lead to a first team chance at Manchester United and Macheda will be hoping to emulate his team-mate should he move out on loan.
