Still very much part of Sir Alex’s plans?

Anderson arrived a fresh faced teenager and wowed fans and critics alike with his mature performances at the heart of the Man United midfield. He was quite simply too good too quickly. By this I mean the Brazilian should have been blooded in the clubs colours slowly and surely until he could build himself into a talent worthy of consistent selection. However in his first few appearances he displayed an assurance on the ball that was hard to fault and he possessed the stamina and determination to more than fit in at Premier League level and Sir Alex would’ve been silly to have taken him out of starting set up and as such left the youngster to blossom.

In his first season at the club he played a crucial role in leading the team to Premier League and Champions League triumphs when he may well have been better off playing the odd Carling Cup match he instead took part in 38 matches in his debut season, the majority of which as a starter.

Ferguson then rightfully played him less in his second season and this seemed to knock the players confidence and he was for the most part a shadow of the player who so effortlessly glided around the park at speed and with purpose. Now his actions seemed laboured and he looked an exhausted commodity and as a result the boss took the wise decision to use him sparingly and things went from bad to worse.

The Champions League Final in Rome was a pain to witness. Anderson was out of his depth, not many players get to experience an appearance in such a showpiece event and this was his second such occasion and he was barely 21.

Now it appears player and boss have fallen out big time and according to some reports the rift is such that he may never play for the club again, and if that is the case then it would be a sad end to a career that could yet hit the heights his early promise indicated.

Hopefully this is all just a storm in a tea cup of perhaps simply a construct of the story hungry press, because he is still one of the hottest prospects in Europe and just needs to be given some wise words and time to grow.

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